Ring Around Reyah
by just-call-me-Elphie
Summary: Updated! A girl comes to Suna to fight the Kazekage, only to fall in love. But something from her past is troubling her. When she finally returns home, what is to become of her happy new life in Sunagakure?
1. Chapter 1

Part One:

A stranger walked through the village, looking left and right at the many villagers who were watching her with interest. She was very pretty, with black hair that fell to her waist and piercing eyes. Her cheekbones were high, giving her face a thin, sculpted look. None of that could draw your first attention from the strange symbol ringing around her left eye though. It looked like a twisting vine, with words inside it. Very artistic and delicate, but with steel in it's dark green dye. It complimented the rest of her skin, which was a very odd pale green color that drew your attention right after the tattoo.

She had taken to wearing black every day, without ceasing, around her un-adorned eye and on her lips, which were naturally deep red. It all gave her the appearance of being a walking dead person. Her short black clothes flapped around her slender ivory legs, and the pointed hat on her head gave a weak flutter every now and then.

She walked stiffly, bowing her head and watching the ground in front of her hard. Someone came from a side street, stopping in front of her and making her bump into him. She looked up, her icy eyes flashing to a shade of purple, when she met the black ringed blue eyes of another. She stared at him, the eyes in the green face flushing a deep blue. The color of the ocean.

He looked at her. Any other person would have shuddered at the look, full of loneliness and hatred. For all that though, she just looked at him calmly with deep blue eyes. "I am Reyah," she finally said, breaking the silence and bowing slightly. She had to grab her hat to keep it from falling off. Next chance she got she would get something to tie it on with.

He tilted his head down, and she noticed the large jar on his back. "Gaara." He narrowed his eyes as he studied her, his red hair falling over his eyes not unattractively.

The facial expression did not look kind, but neither did it look challenging. Reyah stared back at him as hard as she could, allowing her eyes to turn black. The two stood like that for a bit, then Reyah nodded and brushed past him. She closed her eyes and allowed her instincts to guide her through the crowded village, ignoring the questioning glances. The black and blue eyes that belong to Gaara floated in her vision, guiding her through the streets. Someone bumped into her, making her eyes fly open and flash purple as she stared.

A young boy with green eyes and hair had just passed her, knocking into her insolently. She watched him go for a moment, then touched a large gaudy ring with many stones in it to a silver twisting one with a single stone on her other hand and whispered a spell. The ring with many stones glowed faintly as the boy's legs seemed to lock together, making him yell and fall down. "Who did that?" he shouted, getting back up and hopping back and forth. Reyah just let her hair fall in her face and kept walking to wherever she was going. She listened to the outraged shouts of the boy, then whispered the spell again so his legs separated. He fell to the ground, not expecting the sudden release and sat there, still yelling almost wordlessly.

Everyone laughed and ignored him, and Reyah turned a corner. A tall man with long, dark blue hair was standing in a deserted square. Reyah glared at him and stopped. Her eyes went a hard lilac color as he opened his arms and came to her in a friendly manner. "Little sister! It's good to see you here so-- oomph!"

She struck him hard in the stomach, then blew over the top of a smaller, plain silver ring with the same symbols as was around her eye at him after touching it to the same twisting silver one with the single stone next to it. A wave of purple fire came from out of the ring and wreathed around the man, making him throw out his arms and stem it as she dealt him another blow to the side of his head and knocked him over. "What do you want?" she asked viscously, placing her bare green foot with her black, claw-like toenails on his throat.

He made a gurgling noise, making her draw her foot back. "Gah-- wanted to make sure you got here alright."

"The last time I saw you, you tried to kill me." Her voice was a deathly whisper.

His own hazel eyes looked mellow as he pinched one of her toes. "Oh, c'mon. I was just messing around! Besides we're gonna be here together for a-- ah-rg!"

Reyah ground her foot into his throat, then stepped over him. With a flick of her hands she touched three silver rings, only the middle containing a stone, to the twisting one and had a black kind of vine spring from the shadows in the hallway and entwine him. They were solid forms of shadow. "I am here under a challenge. The next Kazekage wants to prove himself against me, having heard of my record. That's the only reason I'm here," she said simply. "None other. I passed through this place when I was much younger."

"You're only fifteen!" He stood and glared at her, letting go of his throat and banishing the shadows into long bits of ribbon with a jutsu. He was always better at making harmless things out of the harmful. "How do you plan on fighting the guy who wants to be the Kazekage? Why would uncle even consider letting you go through with this?"

"Uncle doesn't need to know, and I was sick of the Village Hidden in Stone." Reyah turned, her eyes becoming hard and black. Emotionless. "They hate us you know. I decided I had had enough. When one of the men attacked me and tried to kill me, again, I killed him with this and ran." She showed her brother the newest ring on her hands. A flaming gold one that twisted into the shape of a rose. It was obvious from the scars going up her arm that Reyah was not quite used to it yet.

"Does it hurt you?" he asked, unconcerned about his sisters past affairs.

She frowned and lowered her hand. "Only the thorns that grow when I use it. They become long, wrap around my hand and draw on my chakra for power to do what I wish it to. I don't mind. Tell me where the dueling ring is, Leniad."

Her brother pointed at a faraway street. "That way, then to the left twice and the door on your immediate right."

She left without another word to follow his instructions, snatching up one of the shadowy ribbons as she walked out. She looped it around her hat, then under her hair and back up around the hat again. There, that should hold it in place. She glanced in a shield hanging in the hall to make sure it looked alright. It looked as though it had been there always. With a little crooked smirk she continued walking, following Leniad's directions into the place where she was to wait to enter the dueling ring.


	2. Chapter 2

"Reyah," she answered the person who had asked her name just outside the arena.

He nodded and led her to a box where she was to wait. She could see people filing into the seats in the great ring. At the other side was another box, where the person waiting to fight her was sitting. She watched as they smoothed the dirt as carefully as possible almost as if she cared or was interested. An announcer shouted hers and her opponent's name into the mike. Reyah could only distinguish her own name with great difficulty. The rest was gibberish. She could distinguish the last few words though, "possibly your next Kazekage!"

The door to the ring was flown open followed by a roar from mainly young girls, and Reyah had to put a hand in front of her eyes as she stepped into the bright ring. The light hurt her eyes, but they were turning a mad sort of pink color. The color they became when she was excited or anticipating. She tipped her head forward so her hat would protect her face from the spectators glares and the sun then stalked into the ring. Her shoulders and head were thrust forward in a defiant pose and her legs moved stiffly, but not without grace. With a swirl of her short black cape she stopped and looked up to see whom her opponent was.

Gaara, the boy she had met earlier was striding into the ring. He didn't look disturbed, happy, anything. He just looked blank and kind of angry thanks to the slanted black coloring around his eyes. He stopped and stared at her. She stared back, the anticipating pink in her eyes being replaced with an emotionless black.

The announcer shouted for them to begin, but they just stood there, glaring at each other. Reyah made the first move by touching the silver ring with the twisted design and blue stone to the three with the one clear stone. Both glowed very faintly for an instant, then took on a slight shimmer as she held them together. Gaara watched her, slowly raising sand out of the container on his back with his arms crossed. It had him surrounded very soon, as Reyah spread her hands in a clawing fashion.

The crowd gasped as they both attacked, Reyah bringing the shadows to life and trying to seize him with them. Reyah avoided and fought away the protective sand with her shadows, trying to get past them to him. Gaara resisted, still with his arms crossed. They stood still, observing each other. Reyah's eyes still glinted their dull black, but the blue eyes of Gaara shone almost sadly. He lashed out with the sand now, catching Reyah's foot and throwing her off balance.

Reyah reacted like lightning, touching the golden rose ring to the twisted one and throwing out the hand it was on.

Everyone's head turned as Gaara uttered a piercing scream and fell to his knees. The sand hung around him ponderously, then formed into spikes and raced at Reyah as he turned his strange eyes to her. She fought them off with her shadows, wincing as vines grew from the the gold ring and gouged into her hand. Her eyes became green, filled with calm and meditation, then red as she pointing the finger with the ring on it at him again.

Gaara fell back, writhing and screaming wordlessly as he was tormented by invisible demons. Reyah growled as the ring bit deeper into her hand and arm, making blood run. She stopped her attack with a gasp and sank to her knees, nursing her aching arm as the spikes vanished.

Then her world became a mass or swirling, crushing sand. It filled her eyes and her mouth as she fought it. Trying to stay calm, she forced herself to touch the three rings to the twisted one, then brought her shadows back to life and freed herself. The shadows twisted with the sand, mingling and creating a twisted sculpture of sand and darkness, before disintegrating altogether.

Reyah fell to the ground, her eyes an almost black shade of purple. Purple representing rage, and black representing her fight to be emotionless. She raised the shadows up, into a giant wall of darkness and let it hang there, like a wall of foreboding. Gaara stared, his blue eyes wide, when he drove his sand right at it, creating a hole to let the sun shine on him like a spotlight.

They wrestled without touching, each trying to destroy the other's defenses. Reyah brought the plain silver ring up, still while trying to maintain control of the shadows, and threw what looked like an iridescent purple spike at him. He looked startled and leapt over it, losing control of his sand and letting it fall to the ground.

Her eyes blazing an insane red color and caught up in the heat of battle she drove the shadows at Gaara with all her strength, grinning wickedly as he was overtaken with a yell.

Everyone in the stands was silent and still as the shadows engulfed Gaara, the sand still mingling with it and trying to force it away. They all began to murmur to each other as the darkness fell flat and raced back to where they belonged, revealing a battered Gaara laying flat on the ground. He didn't move. Everyone whispered that the stranger had beaten one of their own, when Gaara shakily stood up.

Reyah had expected this. Her shadows usually didn't do much more than frighten and stun a little. It was her other attacks which were deadly, but she was unwilling to use them on someone who was still in training. That was forgotten when the loose sand around her feet leapt to life and held her fast in place. The living grains came up and seized her hands as she moved to touch her rings together. She clicked the silver ones that were next to each other together anyway and formed a purple bubble around her, which the neither sand nor Gaara's power could penetrate.

Gaara growled in frustration and brought the sand back into his jar as they took an unspoken rest. He had hardly laid a hand on her, and the only damage done was brought on by herself. He would have to think of a new strategy. The twisted silver ring seemed to be the activation ring, and she needed it to use the others. If he could get it off her finger than she would be close to powerless.

With a mighty fling of one arm he shot all of his sand at her, as if attacking her directly. When she fended it off with a purple shield he had one finger of sand snatch at her hand and try to rip the ring off. It wouldn't leave her finger. It was attached to her!

Reyah threw a purple spike at him, then summoned the shadows again. Gaara knew she was most vulnerable when she was activating her rings, so he began attacking her as she summoned the shadows. He watched impassively as they were diverted by the sand, then drove a jet of the grains at her directly.

It hit her straight in the stomach, knocking the wind from her as it drove her back into the dirt. The shadows collapsed and went back to where they belonged as she laid on the ground.

Reyah got to her knees, spitting blood and glaring at him. Here was a boy who would be hard to beat. With motions quicker than the eye could follow, she touched all rings but the gold to the twisted one, summoning all the powers she had minus the ones in the golden ring. Purple fire laced around Gaara, making him throw up his sand to protect himself as the shadows attacked his feet and an invisible barrier restricted his legs. He fell with a cry, right into a ball made of the purple essence, which drove into his chest and winded him. He gave up, letting his sand and head fall to glare at the ground. He was beaten.

Reyah realized this with a smirk, dropping the barriers and purple essence, she drew up as much shadow as there was in the arena behind her. It formed into a huge beast of shadow and stood there, looming.

Gaara looked up, his blue eyes burning. He crawled to his knees, then forced himself to his feet. In a defiant movement, he crossed his arms and drew the sand back into his gourd. He spoke for the first time in a low, grating voice. "I won't lose, even if I die."

Looking disturbed, Reyah tried to send the monster forward. The gold ring suddenly glowed as if on fire, warning her of great danger. She almost allowed the shadows to attack Gaara, but the ring stopped her again. With a growl she threw her hands up, sending the shadow scattering amongst the crowd.

People yelped as the shadows stopped in front of them, examining them. Then they eventually gathered in front of three strange men, bearing the marks of the Village Hidden in Stone, who were looking very nervous. Everyone gasped when they screamed pitifully, being attacked by the shadows. It engulfed them, then vanished, running back to the places it had come from. It left nothing but a few slimy bones. Reyah cocked her head to the side, her eyes black as a moonless night.

Gaara looked at her, his face expressionless. He nodded slightly, as if for her to continue.

She didn't wait. Forgetting the rings she ran straight at him and attacked him directly, trying hard to penetrate his barriers. Then she threw out her hand with the golden ring.

Gaara screamed and fell to the ground, unwilling to get back up. He turned his head to look at her, eyes glazed over. He struggled up again, a hand clutching at his stomach. He summoned up his sand around him, glaring at her wearily.

She attacked again, this time binding him within a purple cord. He yelled as it tightened around him, threatening to crack his ribs. She let go at the last moment when he sent his sand crashing toward her, darting out of the way and drawing back her offences.

He was on his knees, but his hand was out, stubbornly controlling the sand to help him stand. He could barely stand up, but he did, a fighting glare in his eyes. He looked at her, knowing she could destroy him in a heartbeat, and that he would fight it out to the end, trying to win.

Reyah stared, her hands trembling. She knew what the gold ring did, why the young man could hardly stand. It drained strength, chakra, the will to live-- everything. Her target was drained in almost every way, but he was still fighting. This was her chance to win. If she won, it would add to her winning streak. If she lost, it would put a black mark on her perfect, and ruthless record. But that look in his eyes. His spirit, the absolute determination not to be beaten-- "I lose." It slipped out before she even knew she was thinking it.

Gaara raised an eyebrow. The statement had been less than a whisper.

She realized this. She raised her voice and shouted to the stadium, "I lose!" She glanced at Gaara and her eyes went a shade they had never gone before. Light blue-green, with a tinge of pink around the edges. They weren't icy blue, like they were when she was excited. They weren't dark blue like when she was pacified, and they weren't green like they were when she was calm or meditative. They weren't even fully pink like when she was content or, less frequently, happy. They were a sort of aqua-blue with a little pink ring. It might have been admiration. Or could it be-- contempt? The knowledge that she had willingly let him win. Gaara hated it.

"Stop looking at me like that," he rasped, willing his sand to help him up.

Reyah's eyes remained the same, and actually sparkled a little. "Why?" She was bowled back by a wall of sand that knocked the wind from her and pinned her tightly to the ground. She gasped and tried to heave upward, or touch her rings, but he restrained her from doing either. He even separated the rings that were next to each other. The aqua and pinkish color vanished from her eyes and was replaced by pure orange. Fear.

He stood over her, rage and fear building up in his own eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Never again." He let the sand grind down on her, making her yelp before letting her up. He gathered the sand into the container on his back and walked away, leaving Reyah panting on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

Reyah sat in a hallway, her head on her knees, pondering her willing defeat and the boy's fear of the look she had given him. A noise made her look up.

There was Gaara.

He nodded, not looking at her face. "It was a good match. You could have easily killed me. Why didn't you?"

It was such a flat question. She glared at him, making her eyes become black. "The men my shadows attacked were going to make sure you won so that they could kill me when I was off guard, injured and weak. Thanks to you I managed to kill them before they got to me."

He kept avoiding looking at her, staring at the ground intently. "So you let me win so that you wouldn't be killed by people you could have easily killed yourself."

"It's less trouble this way."

"It's more." He allowed his gaze to rest in her eyes. "You murdered those men for no apparent reason. You're in very deep trouble. It would be better for you to leave before the officials decide to punish you. You're very strong, you could have dealt with them later in the shadows, with the shadows, away from watching eyes."

She tilted her head to the side, the strange colors coming back to her eyes. They made his stomach wrench into a knot. "Didn't know you cared."

"I try, these days." He tore his gaze from hers and stared at the ground. "Stop looking at me like that."

Her eyes remained the same, but dulled slightly. "Why are you afraid to look at me?" She leapt to the side as he drove a fist into the wall.

"I'm not afraid of looking at you," he growled, whirling around. He kept his eyes on her hands, watching to see if she would use her rings. "I don't like the way you look at me sometimes is all."

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Why?" She jumped back as he tried to hit her again.

"Because!" He ground his teeth, but backed up. "You didn't need to let me win."

She cocked her head and laughed, the strange colors in her eyes dancing. "Please, you had me beat. It was the smart thing to do to back down when I did. And anyway, my eyes show how I feel, and I can't help them anymore then I can change the seasons."

He looked at her green hand with the claw-like nails. It was slender, but with a sort of wiry strength within it. It clashed with the many, mix-matched rings on it. He knew they were more for use than any sort of fashion though. "I don't want you to feel sorry for me."

She laughed again, the sound harsh and high-pitched from disuse. "Gods, I don't feel sorry for you. I admire you, very much. You're strong too. Maybe stronger than me. You have more strength than most people in this place, probably all of them. You've lived a hard life-- don't ask how I know because I won't tell you-- and it's made you strong."

He looked at her. Her eyes were hard, but still the same colors. The question was going to drive him insane, but it was obviously no use asking. He just stared into her eyes. They became bigger and deeper, letting down their hard defenses and turning into swirling pools of color. A strange sensation came over him, as if his limbs were being restricted by something, and just made them lazy. He felt unable to move, and the sudden overpowering urge to sleep took him. Something he had never known before. Sleep. After a brief and desperate struggle, he let his eyes drift shut and his soul be thrown into a whirling pool of darkness.

_He opened his eyes and saw his visions. A burning house with dark shapes moving through it. Two figures were on the ground, with dark puddles surrounding them. Rage burned in his chest and he ran after one of the black figures, who had began running away. His throat pulsed as he screamed and threw his hand out. The dark figure fell and began writhing on the ground. He heard it's distant screaming, a familiar, but unbearable pain around his heart as he drove a knife in the thing's heart, then he was falling-- falling again._

_A rock hurtling through the air only to strike him on the forehead. He cried out and fell, staring at the group of angry people beginning to form around him. "Wait-- I didn't do anything!" A young girl kicked him hard in the stomach with a yell, triggering the rest of the mob. He covered his eyes with his arms, the first of their knotted fists beginning to pummel him._


	4. Chapter 4

Gaara's blue eyes opened to find himself on bench in a small, deserted restaurant. Reyah was sitting beside him with her arms crossed. "Didn't know you would do that," she clipped quite suddenly.

"What?" He sat up and looked around.

She avoided his gaze. She had fallen asleep too. "Some sort of link or trance formed between us. We entered each other's memories. What did you see?"

He looked at the broken tiles of the worn roof. "A house. It was burning. Was it yours?" He watched her nod. "There were people too, trying to kill me. But what did you see?"

"I saw a man attack me, but he didn't succeed because a wall of sand protected me. I killed him with the sand, him trying to kill me with his dying breath, asking me to die with him. He didn't succeed thanks to the sand again, but I felt such pain, I wanted to die anyway." She stared at the ground. "What was it?"

Gaara ground his teeth. His least favorite memory. The one he really wished had never happened. The one he would do anything to rid himself of. "What was yours?"

"The first was the night that changed my life." She ignored the fact that he hadn't answered her question. "That night, the villagers from the town we were cast out of burned my parents' house and robbed them. They killed them by stabbing them both in the heart and throwing them out a window. They died instantly. I hunted the fools down and killed them. I was six years old, and I had already killed someone with my bare hands." She looked at them as if to see the blood still on them. It was in a way. "I was changed that night. Something inside me broke. Snapped, like a worn piece of rope. I felt it break, and I lost all control of myself."

Gaara stared at her as she continued, "something inside me was gone. It left a void that I felt was unfixable. It was filled though, by something else." She balled her fists hard, her fingernails cutting her hand so blood dripped onto the floor. Gaara started when he realized her blood was not red, but a dark blue. Almost black.

"What?"

"A monster." She held up her hand to show him the gold ring. "When I use this, it takes the thing inside of me, and releases it slowly. The deeper red my eyes become, the more the thing is in control. This ring is truly evil, stolen from a dead ninja I killed myself." She stared at it, then looked out the window. A man with an obviously stolen purse was hiding there. "Hm, how fortunate."

Reyah touched the gold ring to the twisting one, making them both glow faintly and little spiked vines come from the ring. She pointed at the man, and he fell to the ground, screaming and writhing.

"How does it do it?" Gaara's eyes revealed only fascination.

Reyah studied him, then watched as the robber was caught by the officials. "It's the monster, possessing the other person and doing to them what it saved me from. It instantly tears the person apart, making them suffer unbearable pain, both mental and physical. It drains them in every way, chakra, vitality, sanity, you name it. It's what I will be reduced to one day. I hope many years from now."

Gaara scoffed. "If the ring does that to you then why don't you take it off and throw it in the gutters? Be rid of it."

She glared at him, her black eyes tinged with red. "It has an enchantment woven into the metal that keeps me from being what I was. I was so lonely, outcast and hated. The emptiness was desperate to be filled. One day, I found this ring on the person I had murdered. They had attacked me so I killed them in self defense and stole the ring as a trophy. The monster that must have possessed the other person filled me. That is how my hands and feet became the way they are. It's a representative of what lies beneath. More will change in time, though I'm not sure how." She stared at her sharp nails. "I can't help it though. If I lose this blood thirst within me, I'll lose everything else. My sanity, my title, everything that is mine in this world will be lost to me and I'll be no better than a rat in the street, to be stepped on and crushed."

She had said all this with a straight face, but now her eyes became perfectly clear and a tear spilled from one eye. "I don't want to die like that. I would rather have this thing consume me." She gritted her teeth. "I decided to survive. I fight for myself, for others to fear me. As long as I am something and not ignored," she stared at her green hand, "maybe I'll have a point to existing. I'll kill everyone if I have to, if that's what it will take."

Gaara bowed his head. "When I was born, a demon was sealed within me. My mother was sacrificed, my father's will. He wanted to make a weapon of me, but soon came to fear me. He tried to kill me, then gave up. You don't understand, do you?" He suddenly looked at her, his face fierce. "You wouldn't understand hatred, so much of it, from the very moment you were born. I have been hated all my life, and will always be by everyone. I thought if I fought for myself and loved only myself, then I would not cease to exist."

She leaned forward, angling her face so it looked up into his. "The second part of the vision you saw, where the people were trying to kill you, was from my life too. It was like that for a long time. My parents were outcasts from the Village Hidden in Stone. When they died I went back to live with my uncle, but the villagers knew who I was and tried to kill me." She looked away. "I was six years old when I was first beaten by my own people. For many years my uncle had to practically scrape me off of the streets and nurse me back to health whenever those people managed to find me."

Gaara looked at her. "What do you think now?"

She looked away. "If I fight hard enough, kill enough people, gather a good enough reputation, people won't hate me. They'll admire me."

He laughed. "They'll always hate you. I learned that. I told you, I thought living was killing everyone else. Well, it's not."

She looked sideways at him. "What is it then?"

He smiled gently. "Sharing your feelings with others, fighting to protect them. Bonds hurt when you're like me," he looked away, his face tight, "but you learn how to make the hurt go away. To have companions, friends, it's not weakness. It's strength."

Reyah shook her head. "I've tried to make friends, and so have you. They hurt us and try to kill us, no matter what we do. What else could we do to change that?"

Gaara made a small noise, tilting his head forward and grinding his teeth. "Why are people so stupid? They hate you for who you are, or who your parents were. They never give you a chance or let you explain." He set his jaw and glanced sideways at the floor. "I want to be someone people need. That's why I need to be the Kazekage. But no matter what I do, I'll always be hated. My father made sure of that. I'll never be loved."

He clenched his fists, anger and hatred filling him as he stared at the ground when he was startled by feeling Reyah's surprisingly soft hand on his cheek. He looked into her eyes. They were colorful again. Blue and green and pink. She brought her face close to his, looking deep into his eyes. "Gaara, that's not true. Love is a gift, through friends and lovers. It's difficult to come by for you or me, but watch. We won't always be without it."

His eyes opened a little wider when she pressed her lips to his, then he closed them and accepted her. A strange feeling rushed through him, flushing every part of his body. He trembled violently and withdrew, looking at his hands. Worn and callused. His face burned, especially his lips. He brought a hand to them, looking at her. Her head was bowed and she just stared at the floor, clenching her hands. He shuddered as his heart beat violently against his chest. He was surprised it didn't burst. He placed a hand there to still it, then remained like that. For the first time in so many years, a tear welled up in his eye and slid down his cheek.

That tear broke him. He stood, shaking all over and staring at Reyah, then left, his body moving jerkily. He ran outside, his hand still clutching his heart as it beat faster and faster. It felt like it would explode! He ran into a deserted ring and threw himself down, crouching there and trying to control the feeling that was taking him over.


	5. Chapter 5

Reyah still sat there, seeming to have an inner battle with herself. Her eyes were slowly flushing red, banishing the happy aqua/pink and replacing it with rage. "How could you?" she growled in a voice that was not her own.

"I can do what I want, I'm not your servant!"

"You owe me everything. Even your life."

She stood, reeling. "No, I'm the one that worked. You just sapped me."

"I gave you power, so you will obey me."

"No!"

She clawed at her arms and neck desperately, tearing the flesh and making the bluish blood flow. Running from the room she grabbed a wall for support and clung to it, wishing someone in this world cared enough to help her. Those people were dead now. She threw herself against the wall, clawing at it with steel-like nails, then threw back her head and screamed as she fought for control.

-

Gaara knelt on the ground, clawing at the ground, sweat dripping down his face and neck. Her scream tore through his mind, burning, clawing, crying for help. He drove his head into the ground and screamed with her, digging his fingers deeper into the dirt. He stood, swaying crazily, then bolted into the school as the scream ripped at his ears again. He found Reyah, clutching a wall for support and moaning. The ring! It had to come off!

Gaara threw himself at her, trying to hold her still as she jerked involuntarily. He grabbed the hand that the golden ring was on and seized the ring, trying to yank it off. The thorny vines grew long and seized her skin, making her yelp and try to push him away.

He saw her eyes flash red, then fell back, consumed with unspeakable pain. It tore at him without mercy, destroying him. It would tear him apart, destroy him completely. He just hoped it would be soon. A distant scream he realized was his own, and the tips of his fingers tearing as he clawed the floor.

Then it stopped and he saw Reyah tearing at the ring herself. He leapt up, seized it with his teeth and ripped it off, along with much of the skin on her arm. She gasped, shuddered, and fell against him. He caught her, but steadied against the wall. The burning and aching within him, the unbearable, yet not painful feeling, had vanished.

Reyah gritted her teeth and held her hand gingerly at her side. The gold ring laid on the floor, glowing faintly. She panted, leaning against Gaara and the wall, thanking all Gods she knew, and the ones she didn't know as well. She saw Gaara, standing with his shoulders bent and his head down. Why wasn't she losing herself? She felt perfectly calm, in fact. Her eyes were deep blue, with an exhausted clearness to them. She realized, whatever had left her those years ago, was finally back. Not in all it's fullness, but it was there. A little of the evil was left, lurking somewhere inside, but she knew it wouldn't bother her nearly as much anymore. But still, the monster was there, waiting to be released again.

Gaara leaned against the wall, throwing an arm over his face. Gods, what happened? He lowered his arm and looked at Reyah. His heart jerked painfully and he gritted his teeth, placing a hand over it. He recalled words of wisdom spoken to him long ago by a hated guardian.

_A wound of the heart is painful and can be troublesome to heal. There is one remedy though. Love . . ._

Gaara knew what was wrong. A broken heart. He knew the material to fix it with. Love. Reyah. He just didn't know how. He knew the old phrase, _follow your heart_, but he had been following his own way for so long he had forgotten how. He closed his eyes, then felt something touch his cheek.

Reyah was there when he opened his eyes. She looked at him with the all-too-familiar aqua/pink eyes, and smiled a little. He tried a smile himself, but it came out wrong from disuse. He closed his eyes as she reached up and kissed him again. He circled his arms around her, pulling her closer. His red hair clashed magnificently with her green skin as they kissed deeply, lost in each other's arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 2:

She opened her eyes to the sound of birds and a light breeze coming through the window. "Darn!" She leapt up and threw the windows shut, cringing at the hot air that had blasted in. "Stupid summer. Why can't the winter come back? I'm so sick of this! Oof . . ." She bent over slightly, clutching her stomach, her eyes going a shade of orange.

A noise behind a nearby curtain made her turn. "Temari! You're back!"

The older girl let out a laugh and ran to hug her friend her strange eyes a happy shade of pink. "Ha! Heya Reyah! How's it been watching over this town while I was gone?"

"Oh, so boring!" She laughed and tossed her raven black hair over one shoulder. She always let it down for the night, but she was planning on putting it up before going out. She always preferred her hair tied up, even though Gaara liked it down. Speaking of . . . "Where are the others? Kankuro and . . . well, you know." She tilted her head away, letting the others name trail away into the silence.

Temari grinned and held up two fingers. "Oh, they decided to take it easy. Besides, they needed some brother time together and it's no fun traveling with a guy who plays with dolls and another who can't stand to pull his face into a smile. By the way, I love your hair like that. You should let it down more often, it's beautiful!"

She smiled and turned away, pulling the black strands behind a white-green ear. "Thanks. You know your younger brother does know how to smile. You just have to know what he likes and how to perform."

"Oh, I'm sure you can perform for him, sister." Temari winked and nudged her stomach.

She flushed white with embarrassment, her eyes going a deep shade of pink, almost magenta, but not red. Her eyes hadn't turned red in months. "Well, he is my husband!" She looked off into the distance, lost in thought. It had been weeks, maybe months since you had seen him. Some trouble in the leaf village and he was off just like that. Right after becoming Kazekage too! Lady Kazekage, they called her. She couldn't go into town anymore without getting glares from the young girls or whistles from the younger boys. The younger generation seemed to love her while the older one hated Gaara and her both. She couldn't understand it, and she knew better than to ask Gaara about it. It was probably some painful childhood memory that would send him into another sulky fit. She hated it when he got like that.

Temari was standing there, waiting on her like a good little sister-in-law to the wife of the Kazekage. "Temari?" She decided to ask. Maybe her dear friend would know the answer.

"Yeah?"

"Why does half of the town hate us and the other half adore us? Gaara and I, what I mean."

Temari blinked, then looked away. "Well, you know about Gaara's--" she took a sudden breath, "condition. Right?"

She nodded, remembering the last time the Shukaku had almost overwhelmed Gaara. It had not been a good night.

"The older ones were afraid of Gaara, along with the other kids his age. He didn't know how to control the demon, so he was really alone. I don't know the details, I was never really around him, but from what I hear he hurt some people, even killed a few. His father sent assassins after him so all of the people just started hating and fearing him. Can you imagine?"

She looked away, her eyes completely black. "My family was outcast from our town before I was born. They died when I was little, so I went to stay with my uncle, but the people tried to kill me repeatedly. My uncle, who was a doctor, had to daily drag me into his shop and try to heal me from the brink of death. I know how it is."

Temari frowned, then shook her head. "I never knew that! That's terrible! See, Gaara was pampered because he was the son of the fourth Kazekage, and the people were afraid of him. Then father just started trying to kill him. As if his life wasn't bad enough, it all went worse from there." She smiled and tilted her head to one side. "Until he met Uzumaki Naruto and you of course!"

"Why do they hate me though?" Reyah started forward and took Temari's hands. "The younger boys don't seem to mind me that much, they even seen to like me, but the younger girls, and older generations in general, loathe me."

Temari shook her head. "It's just another thing with Gaara. How would you feel if you had this crazy monster kid your entire town has hated for so long and all of a sudden he shows up and wants to be Kazekage because he says he has reformed? Plus he brings some crazy monster girl with him that he wants to marry. It's not settling in their eyes for sure. They would have at least wanted him to marry some girl from the Village Hidden in the Sand, if he has to be Kazekage."

She nodded and turned away, picking up a brush and beginning her routine of tucking her hair into her hat and ribbon. It took forever because of the length, and today she had to present herself for the return of her husband and wear some fancy robe. She sighed. Being the wife of the Kazekage could be tedious sometimes.

"Gaara told me something funny." Temari came up beside her and began brushing her hair. "He said that he might have a little one on the way. Could you tell me what that means, Lady Kazekage?"

She turned away with a smile and allowed Temari to fix her hair into a flowing half-braid down her back. "You know Gaara. He doesn't speak much and when he does it's all in riddles."

Temari laughed, weaving the ribbon attached to the hat into her hair so it wouldn't blow off in the wind. "I thought he was being very plain! Reyah, are you going to have a baby?"

She stilled herself for a moment, taking a deep breath and making her eyes go black. "Temari, I think I'm going away for a little bit before Gaara comes home."

"What?!"

Reyah turned to meet Temari's shocked composure. "There is something that has been bugging me, a few things that need to be set right. The baby hasn't helped. I need to go before Gaara gets back. You know him, he wouldn't let me. He would throw me into bed and prop a few pillows behind my head, telling me to relax and let the cooks get me fat while my body blows up even without the help of food. I'm not about to put up with that just yet."

"Reyah, you can't leave! Gaara will kill me if he finds out I let you leave! Besides, we've been through a lot and he needs to see you. Wait until you hear the things that happened while we were away--"

"I don't want to. It will just make me want to see him more. I'm going." She turned to pick up her traveling frock and shoes, her eyes a sad, blue-ish, clear color. "Tell Gaara I was gone when you got here. It will be easier for him. Give him this note," she wrote a few quick sentences and handed them to Temari, "and tell him I'll be back soon. There are just a few little things to take care of. Don't worry, I'll write."

Temari flinched as Reyah gave her an affectionate hug, then gingerly returned it. "Take care of yourself, and don't let anything happen to that baby!"

Reyah grinned at her, laying a hand over her stomach. "You think I would? This is as much Gaaras as it is mine. I'm protecting it with my life!"

Temari gave her a thumbs-up and grinned cheerfully, though she was crestfallen. "Well, have fun, and hurry back! Gaara will have a fit when he finds out you're gone."

Reyah nodded before darting out of the window in a typical ninja fashion.

Temari sighed and collapsed onto the bed her younger brother and Reyah slept in, thinking. "Well, I couldn't have stopped her. She would have walked right over me, or I would have tried to use force and been arrested for assaulting the pregnant wife of the Kazekage. Oh well. I hope Gaara takes this well."


	7. Chapter 7

1Reyah darted over the open sand, grainy winds blasting her from every direction. She was extremely grateful for the loose braid that let her hair hang free but restrained from her face at the same time. It was attractive and functional. She stopped on a sand dune with a gasp and doubled over, a bout of morning sickness suddenly flooding her senses. She heaved until her stomach was completely empty, then stood, rubbing her mouth.

"Gar-- I've gotta find something to eat. I hope there's a town not too far away from here." With a bound she was off again, trying to fight away another wave of nausea.

A small town arose in front of her, pulling away from the sand and creeping into a mountain range. She stopped and looked around, grateful that she had brought her sash full of money. She walked up to a small place that sold noodles and asked for a cup of Raman. While she was waiting she noticed something strange. A small child had darted into one of the stalls and stolen a fruit, which it was munching on hungrily. The shopkeeper hardly noticed until the small one went back for seconds.

"Plague! Plague, oh gods! The demon will eat us all! Somebody help!"

She started as the young child bolted for the exit of the town, but never made it out of the market. An official dragged it back in, looking scared and stern. People gathered around to see what would happen, as if a hungry child stealing fruit was a big, rare event. She watched, a curious frown covering her face and her eyes a sparkling yellow.

The crowd of people had begun throwing things at the child. Reyah realized, it wasn't the fruit the child stole, it was its mere presence that was upsetting the people. She abandoned the stall that was making her meal and moved to help the child. Touching a few rings to each other, a purple bubble formed around her and the child, protecting them from the wrathful villagers.

She remembered being a small child like this one, being attacked by her own people who hated her. Rage flourished in her chest, her eyes going a dark shade of purple, almost crimson. Purple spikes bloomed from the bubble and tore through the crowd, not harming anyone, but scaring them away. She scooped up the child, holding it close to her protectively as the bubble disintegrated and they dropped lightly to the ground.

"Fiend! A fiend to take the child! Heavens preserve us!"

Reyah looked around in confusion, still clutching the wailing, squirming child. "No-- I'm protecting the poor dear from you monsters! How could you do this to someone so small?"

"Please," whimpered the child, catching her attention, "please don't hurt me. I'll be good and stay in the square, we just get so hungry. Don't hurt me, or the others, please!"

"No-- I won't hurt you!" Reyah pulled the small thing closer to her, stroking its hair and trying to comfort it. "I'm helping you. The people were attacking you. I don't want you to get hurt."

It blinked its huge eyes at her, then reached out and touched her pointy green ears. "But-- you're one of the dragons from the sand. The two-tailed beast that takes children."

She opened her mouth, then blinked and closed it. A quick glance behind her confirmed that she didn't have any tails. "Excuse me. You think I'm a nibi biju? The two-tailed demon that--" she stopped and glanced at her hand, "that plagues the mountains? Well, I can understand that, but do I really look like a demon to you?" She blinked so that her eyes went to a friendly shade of pink.

The little one tilted its head to one side, then smiled, closing its eyes. "Haha! No, you don't! You look nice and have funny eyes! You're kinda greenish, but you're probably sick or something, right?"

She cleared her throat nervously. "Well, I have been kind of sick this morning. Don't worry, I'll protect you and the other children if that demon tries to bother you." She took its hand and stood up, glaring fiercely at the rapidly dispersing villagers.

After gathering up her bowl of ramen and buying the child one, she allowed the little thing to lead her to the square where the other children were kept. It wasn't a square at all, but a rough little shanty town kept close to the outskirts of the village. Reyah kept looking around, not knowing what to make of the place and its familiarities. She could swear she had been there before.

A little girl ran up to her, filthy and shaky, but very bold. "Who are you? Are you here to take us away?"

The other children started squealing in terror and clinging to each other. A few of the smallest ones broke into pathetic tears, lamenting what they thought was their fate.

"No, she's here to help, Maiko." The little child Reyah had saved in the town touched the little girls shoulder with a smile, then pointing at the lady. "She said she would protect us from the dragon."

Maiko turned to Reyah, bold and unafraid. "Well? Are you here to help us or not?"

She was at a loss for words for a moment, her strange eyes a blank gray, and could only nod feebly. Maiko took it well and turned to the rest. "She's gonna to help us! The dragon doesn't stand a chance now that we have an adult on our side!"

She knelt, frowning slightly. "Maiko, is it?"

The fierce little girl nodded proudly. "Yeah! That's me!" She jerked a thumb into her chest, smiling hugely.

Reyah smiled. The little girl reminded her strangely of Uzumaki Naruto. From the thatch of tousled blond hair, to the bright blue eyes, to the loud, fighting, bold and unafraid spirit she had. Reyah had to look away a moment and put a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. She turned back to the little one, smiling gently. "Could you tell me why you're all out here and not in the town? The adults would be able to protect you better than you protecting yourselves."

Maiko stuck her fist into the air, grinning recklessly. "Don't worry about us, grandma! We can take care of ourselves. Besides . . ." She looked away, her brave front wavering slightly. "We're not allowed into the town. The last time they let children stay the entire village was attacked by the demon. It killed many of the villagers and took as many children as it wanted. Nobody knows why it wants children, or why its taking them, it just does." She looked up and smiled fearlessly. "But out here it can't get us, and if it tried we would destroy it once and for all! That's why it hasn't attacked us yet. It's scared!"

Reyah had to bite down on a knuckle to restrain her laughter this time. Her eyes shimmered playfully with their happy pink color, tinged with an amused green. "So, this thing likes to take children? What does it do with them?"

"Sheesh, grandma, are you deaf? I said we didn't know. It just takes them." Maiko shrugged, then took the older girls arm and tugged on it. "Come one, we'll get you something to eat."

Reyah tried to refuse, saying she had already eaten, but the girl was unswayable. She made Reyah sit down at a table with its legs half sawed off and thrust a rough bowl of ramen under her nose.

"Um, but I already ate! And where did you children learn to cook this kind of stuff?"

Maiko grinned proudly. "We send out raiders during the night that gather for supplies for us. Sometimes the adults leave us food, but it's never enough. So we get food on our own. Besides, it's easy to live off of the land out here." She reached down and plucked a small blue flower, holding it next to her face and smiling. "We call these honey buds! They're sweet and tasty, and when you mash them together with berries and stuff, it tastes really good!" She popped it into her mouth, licking her lips with relish.

Reyah started and plucked another one, examining the leaves. "Um, Maiko, these are poisoned blue stars. They grow all over the hill near my old village. Walk through them and you'll be itchy for three days, eat one and you'll have a headache, eat many at once and you'll be sick for a week."

Maiko went white and began spitting and coughing. "Why didn't you tell me before I put the thing in my mouth! Ah-rg! Yeurg!!"

Reyah laughed and took her hand. "Come one. Where the blue stars grow there's bound to be some roots in the ground. When you mash them up they taste pretty vile, but they're really good for you. Whoever feels sickly after eating those things just needs a mouthful and they'll feel better."

She led the gagging little girl to a small hole where the kids had been digging for fun. Many different kinds of roots were already poking out of the ground. It took a moment with a knife and a probing finger to extract the one she wanted, before asking Maiko where the infirmary was.

Maiko pointed at a shack larger than the rest a little way away from the shanty town. Reyah smiled grimly. The kids were smart enough to build a place full of sick kids away from the rest of the dwellings. She led Maiko there, then stopped dead in the doorway. There were pots and pans and a cooking fire surrounded by little kids cooking up a mess of food, separated by only a thin sheet from a room full of coughing, gagging, sneezing children. So much for being smart.

"Who's idea was it to put the hospital in the same building as the kitchen?!"

Maiko shrugged, scratching her chin lightly and looking off in another direction. "Some kid who grew up a long time ago and went to live in the village. As far as we know, there wasn't enough room for a hospital anywhere else."

"No wonder there are so many sick kids! Germs don't fall to the ground or stick to sick kids, they float around! Every scrap of food in this place is going to be contaminated with every disease these kids have!"

The sick kids stopped coughing and the miniature chefs stopped cooking. After a still moment, the worst of pandemonium broke loose. The chefs dropped their pots and pans and whatever they were cooking and ran screaming from the place, and the sick children began yelling indignantly that it was the chefs' fault they were sick at all.

"Hey-- HEY!" Reyah picked up a large cauldron and dashed it to the ground, the clamor breaking through the noise and causing a lull. "This is easy to fix. Have a dozen or so kids pack up the cooking material and move it outside, away from any trees! If we start a fire everything is done for. Tell them to shift it to a place with tall rocks and I'll be there to help them set up an outdoor kitchen."

Maiko, whom all of the kids held in highest respect, began giving out such orders. The bashful chefs gathered up their cooking things and were out of the hospital in a matter of minutes. Reyah nodded and tore down the sheet, motioning at the older children who were taking care of the younger ones. "Bring them in here. There's more room now."

The kids all cheered as beds were dragged around and arranged in orderly rows. It was far less cramped, and they found they had enough room for another couple dozen children or so. Reyah nodded in satisfaction, then began grinding up the root with a bit of water and herbs.

"Alright! Who here is sick because some of your tasty little honey buds didn't agree with you?"

Almost every kid raised their hand, and the ones who didn't looked uneasy.

Reyah sighed and added more water to her mix. "I might need a few more roots."


	8. Chapter 8

1She stood up, sighing and putting a hand over her swollen stomach. Maiko and a few other children were playing nearby with some stones tied to string. They would pair up in a set of two and swing at each other until someone's string broke or one gave up. It was Shakas turn now.

Reyah smiled as she brought the (thankfully) small stone down on the other child's foot, making him squeal and hop around before whirling around and trying to retaliate. Reyah winced, a few loud clacks ringing through the air. Maiko never lost. The little girl swung the stone around her head, yelling victoriously as the other kids sighed. She had beaten every one of them.

"Maiko! Come help me with these, would you?"

The little girl ran to help her older friend. "Yeah, okay! Whatcha got there, granny?"

Reyah scowled playfully. "I'm not but maybe ten years older than you! Stop calling me granny!" She thrust a basket of fresh herbs and roots into Maiko's arms, picking up a large load of berries to carry herself.

"Hey! How come you get to carry the berries?" Maiko pouted enormously, placing the basket on top of her head.

Reyah laughed. "Because it's too heavy for you, and you would eat all of the really fat ones. Don't put that heavy basket on your head, you could hurt your neck."

Maiko swelled. "I have a strong neck! I'm all strong! I'm going to be a great ninja someday!"

"Well, be careful anyway. That might be a touch too heavy for you, and if it is I don't want it on top of your head!"

"At least I'm not getting fat around the stomach from sitting around the fire and eating too much!"

Reyah stopped and put a hand over her belly, frowning. "Maiko, do you want to know why my stomach is growing?"

The little girl plopped the basket on the ground, snickering. "It's because you eat too much!"

The older girl shook her head. "No, dear. It's because I have a little one growing inside of me. Soon it will be time for it to come out, and when that happens I'll need to head home."

Maiko opened her mouth and stood for a while, looking confused. Then her gaping maw broke into a huge toothy grin and she laughed. "Oh! I get it! You're gonna have a baby!"

Reyah giggled and gave a thumbs up. "Believe it!" She stood, reaching to pick up her basket again, but

Maiko had already snatched it up.

"Well, let me help you! A big pregnant lady shouldn't be carting around baskets of stuff! Chikako! Reiji! Help me out with this stuff!"

Two other little girls raced up, one of them grabbing the basket of herbs and roots and the other helping with the heavy basket of berries. Maiko gave Reyah a peace sign as they stumbled away, shouting, "ya! See, we can help you! You just gotta let us!"

Reyah shook her head and sat down on a nearby stump, laughing softly.


	9. Chapter 9

1"Maiko! I completely forgot!"

The little girl looked up, startled, as Reyah ran towards her looking panicked. "What is it granny?"

Reyah knelt in a flurry of black hair and green skin and grabbing hold of Maiko's hands. "I meant to go home to my town and see my old uncle. There are things I need to tell him." She looked away, gazing at the looming mountains. "Things that he needs to know. I should be the one to tell him, if he doesn't already know." She stood up, looking down at her little friend. "Maiko, would you come with me?"

The little girl jumped up, her little hands in fists and her eyes big with excitement. "Yeah, of course! That would be loads of fun!"

Reyah smiled. "Then you'll come home with me after I talk to my uncle and live with me when this is all over? You could be my adopted daughter and live with Gaara and I in Sunagakure."

Maiko's smile fell from her face and she dropped her fists. "You mean, I could live with you as your daughter in the Village Hidden in the Sand?"

"Only if you want to." Reyah gasped, then started laughing when Maiko leapt on top of her, hugging her enormously.

"That would be awesome! I mean," she dropped to the ground and smiled hugely, "the others can come too, right?"

Reyah blanched. "All of them?" She looked out at the dozens of small and smaller children playing in the designated square.

"Sure! They can't stay here without me. I'm their leader!" She jabbed her finger into her chest, grinning broadly.

Reyah sighed through the side of her mouth. "Maiko, I can't adopt all of them! Just one. I wanted to adopt you. I know Gaara will love you as much as I do," _considering how much you remind me of Uzumaki Naruto_, she finished the statement with a thought.

"Oh." Maiko turned away. "I won't go. They need me here. What will they do if the demon attacks?" She turned again, grinning sadly. "You go ahead and do what you need to. I'll stay here. Be sure and stop by on your way home." She crouched, then took off as quickly as any ninja.

Reyah stood up, watching sadly as she darted off. Probably off to some little hiding place where she could curl up and cry. Reyah blinked as her eyes smarted for a moment and turned clear, then turned away with a sigh. It would be a long journey to the Village Hidden in Stone.


	10. Chapter 10

1"Hello? Uncle?" She walked into the dark hospital-styled house. Every piece of furniture looming was an old friend, and painful reminder. She grimaced when she saw the dining table which doubled on many occasions as an operating counter. She touched an old stain, obviously her blood, then squinted into the darkness again. "Hello?"

"Who's there?"

A prick on the back of her neck and her senses screaming. Reyah blinked, gripping the edge of the operating table in front of her tensely. "Uncle?" She swung herself under the table and to the other side where she darted on top of it and held a knife at the ready.

An old man with bright yellow eyes blinked at her before dropping a salad fork. "Reyah!"

"Uncle!" She slid off of the table and embraced the old man, her eyes burning again. Stupid hormones . . .

"My dear little Reyah," her uncle stroked her hair, then took a step back to look at her, "where have you been all of this time? After that night when I had to set your ribs into place and you had that funny ring you just vanished! Where did you go?"

Reyah sat the old man down next to the grisly table, lighting candled and lanterns to light the place up a little bit. She spoke while she worked. "I'm sorry I left. To tell the truth, I'm not sure it was entirely my decision. That ring I had, the gold one with the little spikes, I took it off of a person I had killed."

Her uncle nodded grimly. "The man who broke your ribs?"

"Yes." Reyah sat down opposite of him, smiling grimly. "After that, I don't know. It all seems fuzzy. I remember when my body first started changing." She looked at her green hand with the sharp black nails. "Not a fun night."

He took the discolored hand in his shaking one. "I thought you looked different, but I thought it was just the light."

Reyah shook her head. "No, this is what I am. That ring did this to me. It wouldn't stop." An unexpected tear welled in her eye. She shook her head fiercely to banish it. "I wanted to take it off, but I wouldn't. There was no reason. I don't know, uncle, it made me a monster!" She started crying, grinding her palms into her eyes to hide the ashamedly sad clearness. "Oh-- damn tears!"

The old man shook his head, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sh, Reyah. It's okay. I see it's gone now. Everything is back to normal."

Reyah looked up, her dirty face streaked now. "No, I killed--" she choked and gasped out, "people!"

He laughed. "I've killed people too. Never liked it, but that's what you do when you're in this line of ninja. Your mother and father were the two fiercest ninjas I have ever known."

"But they didn't kill for fun!" Reyah shouted, her eyes going the red-purple color again before dropping her face into her hands. "I'm sorry, it's a touchy thing. I think the ring was possessed with the two-tailed lizard demon."

Her uncle started and stood up quickly, grabbing the table for support. "Then you--"

Reyah stood, shaking her head fiercely. "No! At least, I don't think so." She sank into her chair, another wave of tears welling up. "I-- I always meant to tell you, I was never brave enough."

"My little Reyah, you are the bravest little ninja I have ever known."

She looked up gratefully, her eyes shining pink. "Thank you. That-- means a lot." She looked away again, staring at a dancing lamp near the fireplace. "Uncle? Do you remember Neliscay?"

He looked up sharply, then let his head fall again. "I do. She was the most darling little girl. Other than you, she was like a daughter to me."

The tears welled again as Reyah fought to get it out. "I-- everyone loved her. Remember? They thought she was such a sweet, innocent little girl. Darling little Neliscay! Don't we all love her?" She clenched her fists so that blood ran freely from her palms. "I hated her! More than once she pointed me out to people on the streets. 'Look, isn't that Reyah the Outcast?' she would yell. Then people would start attacking me. She was the most horrible little girl!"

The old man sat down in front of his niece, looking confused and sad. "Reyah, you should have told me--"

"No!" Reyah shook her head, tears flying. "How could I? She was the one who ran and told you they were beating me, conveniently after they were done and I was a thread away from death. She danced around me once when they had finished. Danced through the little rivers of my blood that flowed through those stained streets."

Her uncle was silent, watching her.

"You thought she was so wonderful! So darling for coming and getting you to help me. I wanted to tell you, but how do you tell your uncle, more like your father, that the sweet little girl drinking tea out of his cup is a monster? That the cute little creature he sweeps up in his arms and thanks so fervently is the reason his niece is lying broken on this table!" She brought a bleeding fist down on the table, hopping up from hot fury. "I hated her, but you adored her! How do you tell the only person in the world you can love and who loves you back-- how do you tell them something like that? What if they stop loving you? What if they hate you and throw you out on the street and you're left with nobody?"

Her uncle knelt next to her as she collapsed and started sobbing. "I'm so sorry. You're right, I would have taken it badly. It's just-- she seemed like such a nice little girl. I thought she was trying to save you, not throwing you to the wolves!"

Reyah sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "She and her family went missing many years ago. They never found the bodies."

The uncle drew back, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Y--yes! But you were gone by then. How could you-- what happened to her?"

Reyah sniffed. "I'm not proud of what I did, of most of what I've done. I had to leave the town, but my ribs were still hurt. The moment they healed and I had learned how to be stealthy I snuck back into the town and broke into her house." She looked away, gazing through a window at the sliver of moon hanging in the star-speckled sky. "First I tied her up and put a gag on her mouth so she couldn't scream. Then I broke her arms and legs so she couldn't get loose."

The old man took another step back, looking at the flooring and barely listening, but still registering every word out of curious need.

"Her parents woke up." Reyah closed her eyes, reliving the bloody night. Her eyes had turned a funny black color with flecks of purple and rings with red. "I knocked them down and tied them to each other so they couldn't get away. I was laughing a lot." She swallowed as if the laughter was still bubbling in her throat. "I started with the father, gutting him and choking him with his own intestines. The mother was screaming. I knelt next to her and told her that this is what she gets for bringing such evil into the world. Then I slit open her stomach and bled her to death, burying the knife inside of her stomach so the officials could pull it out as if she had another baby." Reyah looked away and shuddered, every detail springing to life.

Her uncle was sitting flat on the floor, obviously in shock but not wanting to miss a word or even a whisper.

"I turned on Neliscay, who was sobbing as loudly as she could through her gag. The first thing I did was grab those blonde little curls and cut them off, peeling off most of her scalp as I went. Then I slit open her nostrils and gouged out her big blue eyes. She was screaming and her whole body was shaking."

She stopped and burst into gasping sobs, tears racking her entire body. "I-- I'm sorry! I enjoyed it though. Her pain was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced." Reyah stopped and sobbed for a few more moments, then struggled on with the commentary.

"She was completely disfigured, so I began killing her. I dug into her stomach and began pulling out organs, some still trying to function outside of her body. I remember every noise she made when I started pulling out her heart and her lungs."

Her uncle pitched forward onto the floor, moaning. "Reyah . . . keep going. Tell me everything."

She took a gasping breath and plunged on. "I held her beating heart in my hand for a moment. I remember wishing that I hadn't gouged out her eyes so I could see the last rays of light leaving them. But I felt the heart stutter to a stop, which was possible ten times better. Her body was completely still beneath me and I-- I . . ." Her eyes had turned a shining, insane red. She covered them frantically and tried to stem the burst of tears that had begun to flow again. "I don't know what came over me! It was the demon-- I swear! I ate her heart, still hot with her blood that had been pumping a moment ago. I laughed as the blood ran down my face, the rest of me already soaked."

Her uncle gagged, putting a hand to his mouth. "What then?"

Reyah shuddered, grinding her teeth and clawing at the floor with her claw-like nails. "I took the bodies and burned the house, burying them inside a cave by collapsing it. I secretly hoped someone would find her and see how sweet and pretty she was now that I was done with her! Then--" she stopped and slumped against the wall, exhausted. "Then I left and went to wander, satisfied with myself. That's it, that's my crime in this town. That's their just deserts for what they, and she, did to me."

The old man sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she sobbed pitifully. "I know it wasn't easy, my dear little Reyah. It was a long time ago. I forgive you. I have a harder time forgiving her."

Reyah sighed and hugged her uncle. "I killed auntie too."

"What?" He withdrew violently, ashen.

She sighed. "Tonight is a night of confession, so I'm going to spill everything. It was a mercy kill, uncle!" She saw how white he was. "She was in pain! She was sick. Plus, she made me her servant. I-- hated her for it. I was unstable. Half of me said kill her because she's sick and in pain. The other half said kill her because she abuses you. I followed both but went with the first."

He sighed and dropped his head into his hands, listening on.

"I slipped more and more medication into her food until she overdosed, then spilled a bottle of her pills next to her bed. It looked like an accident, but I always knew the truth. I thought you should too."

He looked at her grimly. "Is there anything else you need to unload on me? I suppose the reason you actually needed to stay with me here was because you killed your mommy and daddy for giving you a time out."

Reyah sighed. "I deserve that. No, don't talk about mother and father. Their deaths were the start of all of this. It's their fault I was so bloodthirsty in the first place, that stupid ring not helping and their deaths driving me to the brink of insanity!"

"Well, I suppose you'll need a place to sleep for the night, or do you want to talk some more?"

Reyah shook her head. "No, that's all I needed to tell you. I-- I just wanted you to know."

He nodded understandingly, taking her hand and helping her up as if she were still a tiny girl. "Come, I always keep your bed clean and made in case I have company. Your room is just the way you left it."

She hugged him enormously, completely drained from the emotional night. A late tear squeezed out of one of her clear eyes as she hugged her uncle tightly. "Thank you, uncle."


	11. Chapter 11

1"Uncle Hirtu!" Reyah wandered into the kitchen, holding her belly gingerly. "I'm going home soon. This baby is about ready to come out and my husband is going to want to see it when it does."

He smiled and put a wrinkled hand over the bulge in her tunic. "Yes, this is true. Listen, I know you better than anyone, and frankly a pregnant woman shouldn't be traveling alone. I don't care whether you want me or not, but I'm coming with you back to Sunagakure."

Reyah laughed, throwing her arms as far around his neck as her stomach would let them go. "Haha! Believe it! I wouldn't have it any other way."

He hefted his bad of medical tools onto the table, unpacking his favorite instruments and tools. "We can be ready to go by lunch time, I think. You go and get us some food to take with and I'll start the packing while you're out. If you think you'll be back later, then get us some ramen too."

Reyah nodded, putting a tight-fitting hat onto her head and heading out into the wind.

The people looked at her strangely, not recognizing her after all of the past years and the change of her actual appearance. For the first time Reyah was thankful that the ring had changed her. She stopped and ordered some dried fruit and vegetables, looking up at the looming mountains and floating clouds. She sighed, wondering if that mopey Shikamaru was right. Maybe it would be better to be a cloud just floating along in the sky. Never a care, just going where the wind blows you.

"Here you are miss."

Reyah turned with a start to see the older man holding out her bad of supplies. "Oh, uh . . . thank you!" She smiled and took the bad, blushing white a little bit. "Do you know where I could get some good traveling supplies? I haven't been here in a while and I'm a little bit lost."

He grinned and pointed down the street to his left. "Back that way is a whole array of some of the best food. If you look hard enough you'll find some good bread that won't crumble on a long journey, flasks that won't leak whatever's in them and other such like that."

Reyah grinned, recognizing the strange ways of talking and words that usually wouldn't belong in his speech. "Thanks. I'll make sure and remember that when I'm through there."

He laughed. "How long have you been away? You're dialect is as bad as any of ours."

"I--" she looked away. "A rather long time. Maybe seven or eight years. But I was alone for most of that time and I only really talked to myself. It's hard to explain to someone I don't know."

"Maybe I knew you once! What's your name?"

Her eyes flashed a wicked red for a split second, then dulled to black. "Reyah the Outcast." She hefted the bag and walked away from the shocked old man. Nobody would be able to hurt her anymore, and if they tried she would kill them.

"R--Reyah the Outcast? Wait! Come back here!"

She turned, eyes flashing an orange-purple color. "Shut up! I'm leaving, okay? So just leave me alone! I'll be out of this stupid village soon enough."

He watched her go, his mouth open slackly as Reyah went to finish the rest of the shopping.

"Did you get everything we needed, my little Reyah-shune?" Uncle Hirtu grinned and flipped Reyahs braid playfully.

She giggled and pulled it over her shoulder as she set her bunch of bags on the table. "Sure did! You all done with packing the things?"

He nodded, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Yeah, sure am! Let's get some lunch quickly and then we can head out. I know an old friend who serves some of the best ramen ever!"

Reyah nodded enthusiastically, hooking her arm in his. "Let's go! I want mountain goat and blue cheese!" She put her free hand over her stomach, wondering why the heck she was craving that combination of food so badly. Stupid pregnancy . . .

Her uncle merely laughed and picked up a change purse on the way out of the door.


	12. Chapter 12

1The first sand dune. Reyah took it as a good omen. She crested the thing, panting wearily as the baby fidgeted in her stomach. "Ah-rg! Be still, you squirming little thing! We need to get home so Gaara can see you. Mmph, stoppit!" She plopped down sending little grains flying everywhere.

Her uncle darted up next to her. "You feeling alright? Baby bothering you?"

She nodded, dropping her head into her circled arms. "Yeah, unfortunately. I just want to get home so I can see Gaara. Oh, wait!" She leapt up, grimacing as the baby did another flip in her stomach. "I was going to see Maiko before I went home! Ha, she'll have a field day poking fun at me for my big belly now! Come on, I think her town is this way!"

Uncle Hirtu sighed as she darted off and veered slightly to the right of the direction of Sunagakure. "Oh, the whims of a pregnant woman. Almost makes me glad I never reproduced." He took off after her, calling for her to slow down.

Reyah spotted the small village from about half-a-mile away. "There it is uncle!" she cried happily, darting towards it. "Oh, I can't wait to see--" she stopped at the top of a sand dune considerably closer to the town. "Smoke? Uncle, hurry!" She darted off, grim with urgency.

The village was in ruins, bodies strewn through the streets left and right, but only the bodies of adults. "Maiko?" Reyah called out, her voice feeble and scared. "Are you there?" Her eyes were orange from fear for her friend as she ran toward the square where the children were kept. "Maiko? Any-- body?"

It was carnage. A few small bodies lay draped on the ground and every shack was in ashes. Even the hospital had been burned to the ground, though it had been made of metal. Reyah darted toward the hospital, looking inside. Tiny, charred bodies were everywhere. Reyah gagged, turned and heaved onto the ground.

"Maiko?" she cried when she was done, running through the smoke and ashes. "Maiko, are you there? Chikako? Reiji? Anybody? Oh!" She fell next to a small body with a thatch of blonde hair, rolling it over to look at its face.

The little one coughed, doubling over a bit and frowning at Reyah. "Who-- oh, granny, it's you."

"Maiko!" Reyahs eyes went completely clear and filled with tears. "Wh-- what happened? Are you alright?"

She shook her head, coughing again. "These rabid ninjas attacked us and took a bunch of the children. There was nothing we could do-- they were too strong! You should have stuck around, granny. You should have helped us!"

Tears spilled down Reyahs face as she held the battered little girl close to her. "Maiko, I'm sorry! Tell me you'll be alright?"

Maiko coughed and smiled. "Of course! I told you, I'm gonna be a great ninja someday. Gah!" She doubled over, clutching at her stomach and coughing horribly.

"Maiko!" Reyah got behind her and tried to help, but didn't know what to do. "Uncle!" She darted up and seized her uncle who was wandering through the bodies looking for her. "Uncle, help her!"

He knelt beside the little girl, who had lain down and gone very still. He felt her for a pulse, opened one of her eyes and tried mouth-to-mouth. After five minutes of trying to revive her he finally turned to Reyah. "I'm sorry, she's gone."

"No . . ." Reyah fell to her knees next to the little one, whose eyes were frozen open in a shocked position, though her face was peaceful. "Oh, Maiko." She dropped her face into her hands and burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, I-- I should have stayed here! I could have saved them . . ."

"Not in the condition you are in, no ma'am!" Her uncle helped her up. "Come on, we should get to the Village Hidden in the Sand. They'll send out a team and gather these bodies for burial. It's terrible, it really is, but there's nothing we can do for any of them. They're gone."

Reyah followed her uncle out of the place, sobbing pitifully. The body of Maiko lay on the ground, her eyes open and staring at the sky as the wind began to blow the plumes of smoke away from her beloved village. It was almost like she was still protecting the town and the other children, even in death.


	13. Chapter 13

1"Hello? Sunagakure? I have a young lady out here that happens to be the wife of your Kazekage! She seems to have fainted--"

"Reyah?" Kankuro's head popped up from behind one of the walls, looking shocked. "She's back! Is she alright?"

"Well, she's very pregnant and has fainted for a reason I can't really explain. Probably something to do with the baby. Could we come in please?"

Kankuro leapt down and ordered for them to open the gates, dashing out the moment they were open to help Uncle Hirtu with his burden. "Here, let me take her. She's my step sister."

He frowned at him. "Really? Then you must be Kankuro. Please, lead on."

Kankuro nodded, deciding not to ask any questions. Instead, he took Reyah straight to the infirmary where the doctors began doing a full inspection over her. Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief and grinned at his step-sister's uncle. "I'm going to go get Gaara! He's gonna love that she's back! Wait here for a tick!"

Hirtu sat down on a chair, watching the window to the room where they had Reyah anxiously. After all of this time she was still getting into trouble and needing doctors . . .

He was suddenly aware of a powerful presence to the left of him and turned to see who it was. A tall man wearing the robes of the Kazekage stood there, his striking red hair thrown in every direction and his black-rimmed eyes wide. He looked at the old man, then seized his shoulder with barely contained violence. "Where is my wife?"

"Gaara?"

Hirtu didn't have to say a word. He just smiled when he saw his wide-eyed niece standing in the door of the operation room. The red head that had a death grip on him released suddenly and turned fully to her, standing very still.

The girl took a step forward, one hand over her stomach, her eyes flushed an overjoyed shade of pink. "Gaara . . ."

"Reyah!" He didn't wait and swept forward, catching her up in a crushing hug against his chest. Reyah allowed herself a happy sigh, then buried her face in her husband's chest and burst into hormonal tears.

The tall man ran a hand through her masses of black hair, his jade eyes soft and confused. "What's wrong?"

She drew back shaking her head before hugging him as tightly as her huge stomach would allow. "Nothing! I'm just glad to see you. It's been an experience."

He crushed her to him, burying his face in her hair and inhaling deeply. She always carried that potent scent that he loved. Then he drew back and held her still, looking into her face gently. "Reyah . . ."

She looked up at him, her swimming eyes begging him not to ask.

But he was relentless. "Why did you leave, especially when you were pregnant?"

His dark-haired beauty sighed and looked away, the gentle and encouraging hands of her husband guiding her to lay her head against his chest again. "It was my uncle, really. I couldn't bring another living person into this world without getting some of my past off of my chest."

He rested his chin on her head, stroking her hair gently. "I see."

She sighed and looked up at him. "You understand, right? I couldn't stand it anymore. I would have left sooner but . . ." she stopped and sniffed, looking at the floor again.

He shook his head and held her securely. "As long as you never leave me again."

They stood there for a little while, Uncle Hirtu and Kankuro standing awkwardly to one side. Then Reyah suddenly gasped and doubled over.

Gaara took a step back, still holding her arms. "Reyah? What's--"

Her uncle looked down at the floor, then caught the dark-haired woman as she teetered wildly. "The baby is coming now!"

Gaara took a step back, his face wild as his pregnant wife doubled over and groaned loudly. "What do we do?"

Her uncle shook his head, took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't remember! The last baby I delivered was _her_. Get me some of your most potent knock-out herbs. We'll put her to sleep and hopefully the baby will slide out just like that."

Reyah groaned loudly, closing her orange eyes and doubling over and clutching at her stomach in pain. "Ah! All my life with people trying to kill me in the most brutal ways-- ah!" She gasped and almost fell if not for Gaara catching her. "Ah . . . and never have I been through pain like this!" She gasped at a new wave of pain and sank into her husband's arms. "Gaara!!"

Holding her securely, the red-headed Kazekage threw Kankuro toward the door, ushering Reyah back to the room she had just come from. "Go! Do whatever her uncle says! Don't worry, Reyah, I've got you!"


	14. Chapter 14

1Reyah opened her eyes, the effect of the powerful herbs she had been given to chew on having worn off. She blinked a few times then sat up, instantly noticing the dramatic reduction of weight around her stomach. "Gaara?" she muttered ponderously, looking around.

Her husband leaned forward and kissed her first thing. "I'm here, my Reyah."

Her uncle came into the room, holding a giggling little bundle. He smiled and knelt next to her bed, holding it out to her. "It's a girl. The first thing she did when she came out was laugh and snap at me. She has three sharp little teeth!"

Reyah took the little creature, smiling and laughing as it recognized her and cooed enthusiastically. "Hello! Hello my little friend-- my daughter. Isn't she beautiful?" She looked up at her husband, beaming. "Look, Gaara. This is your daughter."

The red head looked as though he didn't know what to do when the squirming bundle was offered to him. He took it into his arms, looking down at the creature with more affection he had ever felt for a living thing. A long smile spread across his face as he teased her with his finger, touching her nose and talking to her softly. "My little girl! You have a fighting spirit to you. I'm proud to be your father." He looked up and offered her back to his wife, noticing the possessive color in her eyes.

Reyah took and bounced the little giggling girl gently, smiling at it fondly. "I wonder what to name you? Gaara, help me." She stroked the little ones head softly, impressed with the dark, reddish hair and the deep brown eyes.

It blinked at her, tilting its head to one side and staring for a long time. Reyahs eyes widened when the eyes lightened a little bit, going a green color. Even Gaara leaned forward a little more to watch as the eyes slowly changed shades.

Her husband laughed, a beautiful sound. "She has your eyes, Reyah!"

Reyah stroked the top of the bundle gently. "And her father's hair. Either it will darken to my color, lighten to yours, or stay right in between as it is."

Gaara angled his head to look at the tired face of his wife. "And her name shall be . . .?"

Reyah bounced the giggling bundle thoughtfully. "How about Isako? It means, 'this sand child.' She is definitely a child of the sand." She leaned forward and kissed her husband again.

Gaara withdrew and smiled at her, reaching down to stroke his tiny daughter's hair. "Isako is perfect. Welcome to Sunagakure, our little Isako!"


	15. Chapter 15

1Part Three:

The Kazekage stood atop of a building with his wife under his arm, surveying his village with pride. He gestured at it, smiling down at the little giggling bundle his wife was holding. "All of this, my little Isako, is mine." He leaned down and kissed the tiny girls forehead, glancing up at his wife before kissing her too.

Reyah giggled, wrapping an arm about his neck and kissing him back.

"Lord Kazekage, it is time."

Gaara turned, a sad, serious look spread across his handsome face. "Very well." He pressed another kiss into his wife's forehead before turning to leave for the council he was to attend.

"Gaara!" Reyah took a step forward, taking his arm gently but pleadingly. "Must you?"

He stared at the ground, unwilling to look at her. All of this work . . . it was dragging them apart more and more often. He turned and met her perfectly clear eyes with his own jade ones. Even little Isako looked sad, for all the happiness she usually radiated.

The red head reached out and pushed a few willful strands of hair out of his wife's beautiful face, his eyes tracing the strange mark over her left eye. Sliding his hand to the nape of her neck, he pulled her to him suddenly and kissed her hard, unwilling to leave her yet again.

She looked up at him, clutching the whimpering little Isako to her. "Could you miss just this one? I was going to make my special soup tonight."

He looked away and shook his head. "No, Reyah. Just go home and put Isako down. I'll be there soon enough."

Reyah still held his arm, pulling him back. The messenger tapped his foot in impatience. "Today, maybe?"

The hateful glares he got from the both of them was enough to shatter a stone. He wilted and decided to wait patiently.

Gaara touched her cheek again, looking into her ever-changing eyes. He grinned suddenly, something Reyah rarely saw him do. His warm breath danced across her cheek when he leaned forward and whispered earnestly, "come with me!"

Reyah blinked at him when he drew back, confused. "Am-- I allowed?"

The Kazekage just shrugged and took her free hand. "You are if I say so."

Her black hair danced when she nodded enthusiastically and gripped his sturdy hand in her slender one. Isako giggled and snatched at the dancing tendrils, as excited as her mother.


	16. Chapter 16

1"This is from Lord Jiraiya, one of the legendary three great Shinobi," Yura announced, gesturing at the strange man. "But have you ever heard of an organization called 'the Akatsuki?'"

Reyah noticed when her husband flinched and tilted his head down, his jade eyes darkening with distaste. She leaned closer to him, momentarily deserting her task of keeping Isako completely silent. "What is it?"

The Kazekage just shook his head, placing a hand on her knee under the table.

Reyah sighed and glanced up at a spider in the high corner of the room. It was the most interesting thing about the council. Now she knew why Gaara hated these so much.

The hand on her knee tightened considerable, making Reyah grin and glance at her husband. His eyes were on the speaker, but a grin was playing across his face. The now pink-eyed girl lowered her child into her lap to allow her to grab at the hand. Gaara stiffened and glanced down at the girl, hesitant to move lest he upset her during the council.

She smiled at him, showing her three little teeth, then chomped down fiercely onto his hand.

The hand Reyah carried her twisted silver ring on darted to her mouth in an attempt to keep from busting out with laughter, and the other grabbed Isako's mouth to try and pry it open.

Gaara bit his lip, a tear welling up in one eye as he attempted to extract his hand from the jaws of his fierce little daughter. It was not easy. After a few agonizing moments of struggling, he simple screwed his eyes shut and yanked hard, the little girl opening her mouth at that moment and laughing out loud as her daddy overbalanced and almost fell out of his chair.

The council room had fallen silent and all were watching the Kazekage and his wife, some with grins of amusement and others frowns of disapproval.

He nodded at them, regaining his composure immediately. "Ahem, excuse us. Please, continue."

Reyah had to bite down on her knuckle to keep from laughing at the strong, silent look on her husbands face, the hand with the gaudy ring clamped over her daughters mouth.

The others looked both amused and annoyed, then continued with the discussion as if nothing had happened.

The Kazekage breathed a tiny sigh of relief before glaring at his wife.

She just shrugged, a few tendrils of ebony hair spilling over her shoulders. Little Isako giggled quietly and tugged at them, earning an annoyed look from mommy. She just giggled some more and stuck an obstinate thumb in her mouth, looking at daddy with big blue eyes.

He smiled at her, just the corners of his mouth rising a bit, as usual, and reached down to touch the tip of her nose teasingly. She laughed out loud, grabbing at his hand.

"Seeing as though Lord Kazekage has lost all interest in this discussion," one of the elders speakers glared at the red-faced young man, "I say we bring this council to an end."

Yura looked around at the others, who were either dying of stifled laughter or wearing plain frowns on their faces. "Well, that concludes our council."

Everyone stood up and began filing out, either laughing with each other about the funny little girl and her serious father, or muttering about how useless the council had been and how disrespectful the Kazekage was. One even went far enough to say that he had seemed less distracted when his woman was away.

Gaara shrugged them off and took little Isako, teasing her mercilessly. "You little fiend! Disrupting daddy's council like that! I should throw you into the desert and leave you for some band of rough ninjas to come pick you up."

The little girl just giggled and caught hold of her daddy's finger, laughing out loud when he wiggled it through her hand to tickle her belly.

"No, you would probably enjoy that, wouldn't you? Here, take this little punishment." He handed the squirming bundle to his wife, a wide grin on his handsome face.

She took it, closing her eyes halfway when he pulled her to him and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. He held her close, aware of the tiny hands grabbing at his Kazekage robes.

"I love you. Both of you." Red hair clashed with green skin as he dropped his head to kiss his little girl.

Reyah smiled and took a step back, hiking the girl more securely into her arms. "Let's go put her down for the night. Don't think I didn't see you yawn earlier, you tiny fiend."

The little girl seemed to pout, then dissolved into her trademark giggles, reaching up and tugging on her mommy's hair. "Tee-hee-hee-hee!"

Gaara laughed out loud, turning and walking out of the council hall without another word.

His jade-colored wife watched him, clutching their daughter to her chest. A pleased grin spread across her face. Her husband had the most beautiful laugh.


	17. Chapter 17

1Ebony hair draped modestly over a jade face when she looked up from putting her daughter down to sleep. It was later in the day after the council and her husband was forging through his daily swamp of papers. She caught him looking up into the sky for a moment, a long sigh escaping his mouth.

Reyah frowned when the weary, relaxed sigh dissolved and his whole body stiffened. "What is it, dear?"

He stood and waved one arm, a hasty tendril of sand whipping her to him. "Look up there, at that bird."

She squinted, pushing the midnight hair from her confused, grey eyes. "But-- there aren't any birds like that in this desert. I haven't seen any birds like that at all, as a matter of fact. Its body doesn't match its wing span, and one of its feet is much shorter than the other. The whole body is white with no discerning patters, or even a yellow beak!"

The Kazekage nodded, giving his wife an admiring glance. "That's what I noticed too. You stay here with Isako, I'll go check it out. Where did I leave my gourd?"

She started, orange eyes watching him as he opened a musty closet. "Do you think you'll need it?"

He shrugged it onto his back, grinning at the feel of its old familiar weight. "I don't know, but I have a feeling I might. Listen, Reyah."

She started back when he covered the wide space between them in two steps. He took her arms gently, looking into her eyes. "Everything will be alright, I'll be back in no time. But even if things go badly, you stay here with our daughter. I would give my life a thousand times to keep her safe."

Reyah gulped and nodded, noting the feral look in his eyes. "Y-yes. Alright."

He grinned, clashing the brilliant colors of his red hair with her green skin when he leaned down to kiss her gently. She threw his arms around his neck, pulling him closer, never wanting him to leave . . .

But he had other ideas. He pulled back, pressing one more kiss onto her hand, then dissolved in a cloud of sand and floated out the window.

Reyah sighed and sat down, hoping he would be back soon.

A plaintive cry disturbed her from her thoughts and she started up, confused. It couldn't be Isako, she never cried. But there it was again! This time louder and with more passion.

Reyah rushed into the next room and scooped up her child, cuddling it closer to her and shushing it. It whimpered for a few minutes, clutching at mommy's shirt like a frightened kitten. Then she yawned and closed her eyes again, just as the entire room shuddered.

Reyah laid her little girl down and rushed to the door, calling for the nurse that took care of Isako when Gaara and she were out. She came huffing up the stairs in time to see the darkly clad Reyah leapt out of the window, every aspect of her hinting at crazed. The babe wailed again and the nurse scooped it up to comfort it, wondering where the little things parents could have gone at a time like this!

Reyah had only stopped for a moment to put her old fighting clothes back on. Her black frock with the dark leggings and the brown cord around her waist, complimented by the cape slung around her shoulders and the pointy hat tied securely into place with a shadow ribbon. There was something wrong, and Reyah knew it. She wouldn't rest until she found her husband.

"Kankuro!" She darted up next to her brother-in-law, looking at him wildly. "Where is Gaara?"

The older boy turned to her and grinned. "He's up there, fighting an invader. I say he's winning!" He turned his painted face back to the sky to watch the fantastic scene.

A sharp pang went through Reyah when she saw the bubble of sand suspended in the air. That had to be Gaara! Her reddish orange eyes darted to find his opponent and landed on a man with a long ponytail of blonde hair. His left arm looked completely crushed and was bleeding profusely, but for all that he had a cocky, confident grin on his face.

Reyah grinned. Knowing Gaara, her husband would try and smear that grin off of his face with a few well-aimed attacks.

Something happened. The man leapt up and cast a huge, strange looking clay bird down at Suna. One of the soldiers started back and hissed out loud, "not good. Run!!"

Reyah could only blink at the massive thing hurtling toward her husbands village. Kankuro stood beside her, the only two who believe everything would be alright.

A massive layer of sand suddenly formed over the top of them, shielding them from the explosion of the clay bomb. The jade-colored girl felt the intensity of the blast, even shielded by the sand. The whole thing had buckled enormously under the power of the explosive. But now she couldn't see!"

"Gaara!" She summoned a purple shield and leapt aboard, trying to get above the roof of sand so she could make sure her husband was alright.

Something grabbed her leg and pulled her back down, catching her at the last minute. "Reyah, cool it. You'll only distract him."

Reyah burned at Kankuro as he set her back down, but stayed where she was and hoped Gaara would move the sand. Another explosion sounded, the girl's eyes going a shade of purple and orange. Furious that she couldn't see and frightened for her husband. Then the sand began to slither away.

_Yes_! Reyah grinned and stuck both hands on her hips, certain that her husband had won. Then she saw a large white owl swoop toward a limp, sand-covered bundle with red hair . . .

She heard Kankuro stuttering in disbelief next to her, but her mind was clouded herself. Gaara . . . her dear, sweet Gaara . . . dead? _No_! She clenched her fist and took a step forward, every inch of her wanting to go.

Kankuro took off, triggering Reyah's legs. She dashed after him, tears driven away in the making of vengeance. She would kill that son of a mongrel that dared touch her Gaara, then bring her husband safe home to his loving wife and child. It was what he _deserved_.

"Kankuro, Lady, wait!" The sentry took a bounding step after us. "He's powerful enough to take down Gaara! What do you think you'll accomplish?"

The dark-haired woman didn't bother to answer, but Kankuro yelled back, "I can't just stand around and do nothing!"

He suddenly stopped, her senses pulling her back as well, unwilling to go alone. The scout was still shouting. He was being the distraction.

"That's not what I'm saying! Be smart about this, _track_ him, don't try to attack! If we can pin down their hideout we can rally the troops and attack!"

She gnashed her teeth, her vision blood red as her eyes flushed crimson. But Kankuro was moving again and so was she. She barely registered what he said when he shouted back to the sentry, "Alright, I'll try!"


	18. Chapter 18

1Kankuro pointed out the bird as it swooped over a hill, a note of confusion in the tone of his voice. "He's landing."

She nodded, tendrils of black hair scattering around her face. She had tied up her hair so quickly . . . this was going to get annoying. She kept on, dashing ahead as fast as she could in her fury. Kankuro was hard pressed to keep up, but somehow he did.

They stopped at the canyon for a moment to stare in disbelief at the corpses there, but Reyah shook herself and wouldn't allow the delay. "Leave the dead where they lay and save the living before they join them." A saying her uncle had once taught her. But she never thought she would have to say it in reference to her husband.

Kankuro nodded and took off running again, the now-dazed Reyah still following him doggedly.

A large white owl landing and a flash of red hair behind it. Kankuro was in his right mind and yelled, "stop!" Reyah ground to a halt, obeying him and watching to see how it would play out. But he was right there! Could she not just rush forward and get him?

The man with the hard, painted face stared at the two mercenaries coldly, declaring in a deathly tone, "I'm taking Gaara back."

The daze passed and rage flooded through her again, the world in a blood red, razor-sharp contrast. She balled her hands into tight fists so that her dark blood oozed through her fingers and dripped to the ground. She took another step forward, shoulder to shoulder with Kankuro.

"Give him back."

The short one rasped at the blonde man, "Diedara, go ahead."

Kankuro grunted and rolled out all three of his puppets, shoving Reyah back. "Don't do anything rash. Give me back-up if need be."

The blonde man suddenly took off. Her fury and anguish soared and she almost raced forward to stop him, but Kankuro held her back.

"Reyah, I need you here!"

She glared at him, her eyes as red as they could be. She wished fervently that she had her golden thorny ring where she could attack from long distance.

But . . . she had never thrown it away. Always kept it, her only secret from her husband. He would have disapproved. By the time she had thrust her hand into her pocket and extracted the ring, the blonde man was far out of reach and there seemed no way to catch him.

"Gaara . . ." She took a step after the blonde man, but it seemed such a pitiful distance compared to that he had traveled.

"Stay here and help me!" Kankuro grunted, sending his puppets flying toward the strange little man watching them.

Reyah took a step back, the ring pulsing eagerly in the palm of her hand. She wouldn't put it on, everything would be fine. Kankuro should win, he's the best puppeteer there is. She wouldn't put it on . . . _yet_.


	19. Chapter 19

1Reyah knelt next to Kankuro, thoroughly frightened. The strange little man had beat him so easily. That weird tail had smashed his puppets easily, as if it was child's play.

She touched his forehead, anxious for him to get back up. "Kankuro!"

He groaned and tried to move, but it didn't seem that his body wanted to cooperate. A few twitches of his fingers sent what was left of his puppets flying toward the weird little man, but he dodged them easily.

"Almost," he jeered. He watched without emotion as Kankuro struggled to remain conscious. "The poison's spreading. You have two, maybe three days. I don't have to finish you now." He glanced at the jade-colored girl, who had stood and positioned herself with furious resolve. "Come now, we both know how this is going to end."

She shook her head, still clutching the ring in her hand. _I won't put it on, not yet_. "You have no idea how this will end."

The old man laughed, flourishing his tail vauntedly. "Didn't you see what I just did to your friend? Go home, little girl."

She attacked without another word. There weren't many shadows out here, but she summoned all that she could and held him in place sturdily, throwing the sharpest purple spike she had ever conjured at his face. She wanted to see him destroyed.

With a flick of his tail he was free and able to deflect the bolt of purple essence. "Is that all you've got? Pretty pathetic."

Reyah burned with rage, summoning one of her husband's own jutsus through the gaudy ring with many stones. A rough Shukaku arm flew from the sand toward the old man, reaching to grab and destroy him.

He dodged easily and opened his mouth facing the girl. A shower of black spikes flew at her without the slightest delay.

Reyah knelt and threw up a purple shield, wincing when the spikes almost broke through. He was strong! She leapt back up, unsure of what to do. Another shower of spikes caught her by surprise. Her hat was whipped off, along with a few strands of hair, as she knelt at the last moment and threw up the shield again.

With a few complicated turns of her hand she formed a clone of herself out of the purple essence in front of her, something she had seen Gaara do with his sand. The alternate Reyah threw herself boldly at the old man, ready to sock his brains out.

He dodged her, smashing the whole thing to tiny purple fragments with his tail. Reyah called up her shadows again, using what she could to try and build up her shadow monster.

There simply wasn't enough shadows and it took too long. Another wave of the black spikes tore at Reyah, causing her to drop the shadows and try to dodge. She didn't have the time to pull up a shield. Most of them flew by without touching her, but two managed to slash her green skin open. Her arm and her left thigh.

Reyah collapsed, holding her arm tenderly and glaring daggers of hatred at the man. _Just a couple of scratches_, she told herself. _Get out there and murder this joker_! She tried to stand, but her muscles seized up on her and forced her to collapse. "Ah-rg!" she tried to force her muscles to work, but they had begun to tingle as if they were asleep. Poison!

The ring was still clutched in her hand. It was her last chance. She forced one hand to meet the other, three shaking fingers sliding the golden ring back into its old place on her middle finger.

Sudden power like no other surged through her, the old insanity flooding through her body as sheer hatred and madness ate away at the poison that plagued her body. She managed to crawl to her feet and faced her adversary, her eyes as red as could be with a demonic tinge to them. She laughed, her frightening old cackle and attacked again, simply throwing out the hand with the gold ring and gesturing.

He screamed and fell back, the tail thrashing horribly as she tortured him without mercy. But as the vines gouged deeper into her skin she had to stop, pulling back and nursing the bleeding arm.

Sasori didn't hesitate a moment and attacked, bombarding her with the black spikes and lashing out with his tail.

The evil laugh bubbled from her throat again as she knelt and blocked both attacks with a full purple bubble, floating for a moment and observing him as he lashed out at her. He sent wave after wave at her defense, finally making the essence start to shudder.

The red-eyed thing dissolved the purple bubble and attacked from another angle, summoning what shadows it could and binding it tightly together so the tail was lashed the the head. Another purple bubble came crashing down on top of him, a threatening crack telling the red-eyed thing that it was winning.

"No!"

A burst of black light and a shower of spikes sent the thing flying back as Sasori reared up. "I will not be beaten by a green whelp like you!" He spat even larger spikes at her, lashing out with his tail at the same time and releasing some sort of mechanism on his arm.

The thing abandoned Reyah, seeing it was defeated, and retreated back inside of her. Reyah tried to throw up a purple shield, but it shattered under the impact of both the spikes and the tail. The arm burst in her face, black pellets tearing at her skin and sending her skittering back over the sand.

She couldn't move. Even her ring couldn't help her now. The last thing she was aware of was the shouting of some of the Sunagakure scouts who had found them, then everything became a black pit of pain.


	20. Chapter 20

1_An old woman bending over her, the warm breath on her face. Was it old Chiyo? Or was Chiyo dead? Was she herself dead? No. How could she be in this much pain if she were dead?_

_A poison? The old one was talking about a poison. Was that why she couldn't move, why her body hurt so much? Incurable? What about Kankuro? Had he been poisoned too?_

_Something whimpered next to her ear and she was aware of a fiery pain on her cheek in the shape of a tiny hand. Was that her Isako? What was she doing here? Couldn't she see mommy needed sleep? All she wanted was more sleep. Where was Gaara? He should take her and play with her the way he does when he thinks she's not watching._

_Where is Gaara? Oh, that's right. That blonde man had taken him. Was he dead, or simply unconscious? Where had they taken him? Why not just leave him here with her, to love and cherish her 'till death doth them part? Cruel, nasty people, taking her Gaara away from her._

_Some sort of commotion. She didn't care. She was trying to focus on this crawling sensation under her skin. It was like a million tiny snakes had invaded her body. Wasn't that medical relic Chiyo around? Why couldn't she cure this weird feeling?_

_A knife cutting into her and a fiery hand extracting acid from her. It burned like hell! She writhed and cried out for her husband to help her, but-- wasn't he dead? Yes, dead and gone. Who could help her then? She was alone in the world without him . . ._

Her eyes were red when they opened, but it quickly faded to a confused blue. She sat up, looking around at the new people in the medical room. A girl with bright pink hair and emerald eyes, a young man with messy blonde hair and sapphire eyes, another with a crop of white hair and most of his face covered . . .

"Who are you?" Her eyes lit on the blonde boy again. "Uzumaki Naruto . . .?"

Her voice sounded distant and unfamiliar.

He turned and stared at her, then grinned hugely. "That's me, and the one that fixed you is Sakura! We're here to rescue you!"

She huffed a bit and turned away, but the blushing pink-haired girl came to her with a glass of some liquid. "I'm sorry about him, we're just here to help. Here, drink this."

The jade-colored girl nodded and tilted her head back when the cup met her lips, gulping down the foul liquid as fast as she could to rid herself of the taste. She sat back, gagging on the residue left in her mouth. The pink-haired girl just smiled at her and gently pushed her back into the cot she was laying on.

"That should do it. You two should just keep still until the numbness goes away. Lie down and take it easy." She grinned at Kankuro, then stepped away from the cot, leaving Reyah feeling suddenly exposed.

Naruto huffed and slipped a pack onto his shoulder. "C'mon! Let's get out of here!"

Reyah struggled into a sitting position and forced herself out of bed, the power of the golden ring on her finger surging through her body. "None of you are going anywhere . . ." she grabbed the pink-haired girls pack and put it on her own shoulder, "without me."

"What?!" The over-excited Naruto leapt forward. "You aren't fit to come along!"

Reyah glanced back at Kankuro, expecting a disapproving glare, but her brother-in-law just seemed to be zoning out in Naruto's general direction. A grin played onto her lips when she glanced over at Naruto again. Such a strange boy. Gaara talked about him a lot with admiration. Reyah simply smiled. "I'm fine now. I trust in her healing abilities." She nodded at the pink-haired girl, Haruno Sakura.

The white-haired man, obviously their sensei Kakashi, took a step forward. Gaara had told her everything about their group, even about the infamous Uchiha Sasuke and his older brother Itachi. But Kakashi was shaking his head at her. "As much as you feel as though you can come along with us, and as much as you feel the need to do so, I'm afraid you're in no condition to do anything but rest."

In a flash Reyah was behind him, the raw power of the golden ring pumping through her body. She formed a purple dagger and held it to his neck. "I'm fine, and I'm going to come with you," she hissed menacingly.

He gulped, the extremely sharp edge of the purple knife cutting at the cloth around his neck. "But--"

"Lady Kazekage," old granny Chiyo stepped forward, her hands tucked into her sleeves. "I respect you and acknowledge how this would be your greatest desire, but in the best interest of your husband, don't you think it would be more prudent to stay here with Isako?" She nodded, then left the room as if to let Reyah think about it.

Her husband? Isako? The words seemed unfamiliar. She didn't even know where Naruto and the rest were going and why she needed to go with them.

But the blonde broke into the conversation in that ever-so-Naruto way of his. "What--? Lady Kazekage? You're married to Gaara?"

She turned to him, letting the dagger dissipate so that Kakashi broke free and stepped away from her. Her eyes were a green color tinged with a prideful pink. "You better believe it!" She smiled at him, holding up her hand in a peace sign. Things were finally becoming clearer for her.

Kankuro seemed to break out his haze, looking up at Naruto almost pleadingly. "Uzumaki Naruto . . ."

All eyes turned to him. "Please," he looked down as if it hurt to look at the anxious blonde, "save my brother."

Reyah started. Of course, that's where they're going! They were going to rescue Gaara from that blonde man with the birds and the strange one with the puppet. Her stomach clenched when she though of her defeat, but furious resolve replaced it in an instant.

Naruto grinned at him, oblivious of the raging jade-colored girl beside him. "Of course. I'm going to be Hokage! For now the Kazekage can just owe me one!"

Reyah closed the space between herself and Kankuro, pressing his trembling hand in her sturdy one. He looked up at her, disturbed that the poison had been burned from her system so quickly. She just grinned at him. "Don't worry, Kankuro. I'm going to find my husband and make the fools who took him pay!"

The silent confidence in his eyes told her that he fully believed every word she said.


	21. Chapter 21

1She stared dully at Tamari with black eyes, not wanting her step-sister to come along. The blonde girl had just declared her intentions on coming with them and didn't look ready to back down.

"Temari, you stay to aid border security." Granny Chiyo stood on the ledge of a wall, looking down at the small group. Reyah looked up at her, wondering how she had managed to get up there. The old lady grinned a little bit at their surprise. "I'll represent the sand village myself."

Temari frowned and shouted up, "but granny Chiyo--"

"Don't treat me like a fossil!"

Reyah took a step back, her eyes a surprised bright yellow when Chiyo leapt from the wall, landing primly on all fours. She looked up, grinning at us. "It's been a while since I've taken care of my _adorable grandchild_."

The jade-colored girl laughed and patted Chiyo on the back as she rose. "I knew you had it in you, granny." Her eyes faded clear when she reminded herself of Maiko.

Chiyo looked at her sideways. "I can't force you to do anything, but this is your last chance, lady Kazekage. Didn't you swear when she was born that little Isako would have two loving parents to take care of her as she grew?"

She looked away, her eyes a hard lilac now. "I did, and I'm making sure that she will never lose a parent. I don't care what you say, Chiyo. I'm going to save him and make sure she grows up with a mother and a father."

Chiyo shrugged and began walking. "It seems to me that you are leaving her in danger of having no parents at all. Knowing your particular past, I wouldn't leave your child at that risk. But each to her own. Let's head out!"

--Hey, I'm leaving a note for once! This one was super short, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of anything to write really. This is all gleaned from the manga book. Don't worry, I'm gonna make the next one really long, faithful to the manga, but with a little originality because it hurts to just copy things all the time. See you next time!


	22. Chapter 22

1They had been running for a long time, talking on and off about Bijus and Jinchuriki and other stuff. It all made an anxious knot ball in Reyah's stomach, the whole business giving her a bad feeling. For a long time she had been able to tell something was wrong, but didn't want to say something. She knew when someone was hurting her husband, part of the link between them. She could sense his pain and he hers. His agonized screams had been pulsing through her senses, but she refused to allow herself to worry.

Gaara would be alright once she got there.

"Stop, everyone!" Kakashi threw up his hand and ground to a stop a little bit before a shadowed figure in a clearing.

Reyah landed lightly behind him, squinting in the bright sun to see who the strange person might be. Naruto started and, even without a connection, Reyah could feel the rage rushing through him.

"Who . . .?" Sakura voiced a noise of confusion, and the others did nothing to help.

Kakashi sighed and muttered, "so soon?" Granny Chiyo was pondering his eyes. The only one of any help was Naruto.

"Uchiha Itachi!"

Sakura started and drew back, her green eyes flashing. Reyah's ears perked up, eager to learn more about Sasuke's infamous brother. Granny Chiyo helped. "Itachi, yes, he's the boy who murdered his entire clan."

The man spoke without a hint of emotion. "Long time no see, Kakashi, Naruto." His eyes lingered on the latter.

Reyah turned her head, feeling the extreme anger seeping from Sakura. The jade-colored girl thought the pink-haired girl's teeth would break she was clenching them so hard.

Naruto exploded. "Who do you think you are?! You come for me, kidnap Gaara-- I'm gonna take you out!" He stamped his foot, raging. He was almost dancing with anger.

Kakashi twitched and threw out one hand, distracting the group. "Nobody look directly into his eyes, it's dangerous!"

Reyah looked down immediately, her eyes purple with angry frustration. "How do we beat this guy?"

"What are we supposed to do?" Sakura added.

Kakashi glanced a little bit toward the two anxious, annoyed women. "Read his movements by watching his body and footwork. Itachi's genjutsu is ocular jutsu. Basically, he seizes his target with his vision. You'll be okay so long as your eyes don't meet his."

Reyah looked at him, noticing the way he was looking at her eyes. She shook her head. "Don't look at me. My eyes might change color, but they're no good for genjutsu."

He shrugged and sighed a little bit, at the exact same time as Sakura. She shook her head a little, glancing at their opponent's hands and body. "This is not going to be easy."

_Darn it!_ Reyah almost growled out loud with frustration, the screams of her husband starting to get to her. Granny Chiyo made a noise, about to start talking and drawing attention to herself. "The Uchiha clan," she mused, though she wanted the others to listen. "I haven't gone up against the sharingan in a long time." She grinned, still looking at the ground. "But you needn't be afraid. Several tactics can be used to handle ocular jutsu."

Naruto looked at her fiercely. "Well, what do we do?"

"If it's one on one, you definitely run. If it's two on one, get his back."

"What do you mean?" Naruto frowned.

Chiyo grinned at him. "If it's two on one, even if one falls under the genjutsu, they can be released if the other gets behind the enemy and lands a hit. If that doesn't work, you can free your comrade by giving them a whack too. In other words, when you are two or more, one acts as a decoy, then the other attacks continuously from the sharingan's blind spot."

Sakura perked. "I get it!"

"There's some age and wisdom for you," Naruto said with a cocky grin.

But Kakashi didn't look so confident. "Yeah, if it's a regular genjutsu level, that's fine. In this guy's case, it's a little more troublesome."

Chiyo glanced at him, annoyed. "What?"

"He uses mangekyo sharingan," Kakashi explained. "It's more powerful than the original sharingan. If you're caught by his ocular jutsu, he has you instantly. It has nothing to do with whether you can defeat genjutsu or not."

Naruto and Sakura both grew serious and angry, but granny Chiyo just huffed. "What a nuisance. Who _is_ he?"

Reyah looked away, not paying attention anymore. She had heard enough, and the stall was killing her. She wove a few signs and focused on her husband as hard as she could, trying to get through to him and calm him a little bit. She was completely ignored, and some of his pain actually ripped through her body in an effort on his part to rid himself of it.

Reyah groaned out loud and tried to break the contact, wondering what could be happening to him that would cause him to hurt so much? But . . . the signs she had woven weren't going away. It was like her hands were stuck like that. She shut her eyes, wondering how much pain her husband was in if this was only half of it. She looked up for a moment in desperation at the strange man before her, her eyes briefly meeting his.

_Darkness, then a small green light shining down into a hole. She was kneeling at the edge of this pit, her hands still clasped in the sign that kept her connection to her husband open. But she hadn't just connected with her husband . . ._

_There was no more pain, but an agonized and surprised scream came tearing out of the pit in front of her. An easy glance showed her a version of herself, chained to the ground and grimacing in pain._

_The thing looked up at her, its eyes crimson and the face covered with the strange tattoo that was already over her left eye. The green skin was covered in the weird tattoo, woven down her arms and legs to twist across her belly and back. The thing laughed harshly, a laugh that sounded like hers._

"Ah-hahahaha! Look who's here!"

_She didn't break the connection by pulling her hands apart, she kept staring at the thing in the pit. Its hair was extremely long and wild, like the mane of a wild beast. The hands more resembled talons now, each finger long with an extremely sharp nail. Even the limbs looked twisted and more animal-like. She was fascinated but appalled at the same time, wondering what the weird thing was._

_It tilted its head to one side, considering her. _"Well, what can I do you for? Did you come to set me free?"_ It lifted its weird hands a little bit, the chains that held it to its chair clanking loudly._

_She frowned at it, shaking her head. _"What are you?"

"What am I? Hahaha!"_ It snarled at her nastily, the lips curling to reveal sharp fangs. _"I'm you, sweetie. The part of you that you tried to abandon almost a year ago."

_She drew back a little bit, her eyes wide and yellow with surprise. _"You're the monster! Get away from me!"

"How am I supposed to do that, sweet thing?"_ It laughed again, yanking at its chains and grimacing as a fresh wave of pain hit it. _"Ah-rg . . . oh, I'm a part of you. I'm as much a part of you as those funny eyes you have!"

_She shook her head, unwilling to believe. _"Just stay there, I'm trying to contact my husband."

"Oh, Gaara, our hubby?"

_Eyes flashed purple and she looked down at the thing. _"No-- he's mine! Leave him out of this!"

"Why should I? Ah . . ."_ It doubled over a little bit then looked up with a pained smirk. _"I'm the one you're dumping half of his pain on."

"And why would you take it? You never liked him in the first place! Why do you think I got rid of you?"_ Her eyes were as deep purple as they could go, but the monster was beneath her and not taking her over so they didn't turn red._

"Oh, I don't mind him that much. I was just upset that you traded me for him."_ The thing grinned horribly at her. _"Yeah, I actually like him, and our little daughter, Isako, too!"

_Rage and shock flooded through her. She reared forward, ready to kill the thing. _"She's not yours at all! She's mine-- Gaara and I's! She never belonged to you! Not at all!"

"Oh please!"_ The thing groaned and looked away before grinning horribly at her again. _"I'm part of you, and that makes me as much of a mother to her as it does you!"

_She stared at the thing, wishing to kill it but unable to move. With a furious movement she forced her hands open and broke the connection, darkness surrounding her again . . ._

"Hey! Wake up!"

Reyah opened her reddish purple eyes and stared at Chiyo. She was standing beside her with both hands on her arm. Sakura was standing nearby, her hands on Naruto. Reyah blinked and shook her head. "W-what happened?"

Chiyo shook her head and took a step back, folding her arms into her sleeves. "We hadn't even realized he had gotten you until you started flinching and tensing up. I thought you were just checking up on your husband."

The jade-skinned girl looked to one side. "I-- was. But something happened . . ."

"Itachi got you, that's what happened. Now snap out of it, we need to help Kakashi." Chiyo turned, then eyed the younger woman again. "Did you manage to make contact with your husband?"

Reyah nodded. "I did, but I don't think he really realized I was. All I could sense or feel was pain." She shut her orange-ish-clear eyes.

Kakashi slid back, looking at Naruto and Reyah with concern. "You two okay?"

Naruto stood stock still. "I . . ."

The jade-skinned girl gave the older man a thumbs-up, grinning at him. "Ready to go!"

Sakura put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It was genjutsu, you're okay now."

The old granny sighed. "It seems ocular jutsu isn't all he has."

"It's time to get ready, Naruto," Kakashi warned, getting ready for another attack.

Reyah looked at Naruto, basically her husband's idol, but the young man was standing stock still and looking dazed. "Naruto! Wake up!"

Sakura smacked him lightly on the cheek. "Hey! Pull yourself together!"

The blonde-haired boy looked at her, still a little bit dazed, but more aware of what was going on.

The girl with the raven hair got into a ready position. "I'm ready to go!"

But granny Chiyo restrained her. "Oh, no you don't Kakashi wants Naruto and you won't be able to take his place. The boy might be dazed, but the man has confidence in him. You stay right here, with all due respect, of course, lady Kazekage."

Reyah just glared at her.

"Naruto, I'll show you how to handle him."

Itachi suddenly drew back and spat a massive fireball in Kakashi's direction, straight at him and the others behind him as well.

The four waiting had to dash out of the way quick as they could to avoid being incinerated. Reyah looked up, frightened that Kakashi hadn't made it. A hole in the ground told another story. Naruto, who was right next to her, exclaimed, "I get it! Master Kakashi's excellent!"

Orange eyes went yellow when Kakashi burst from the ground and aimed a blow at Itachi's jaw, pushing the evil man back some. He didn't manage to land the blow, but it was enough to get in a steady hold with him.

The jade-colored girl started forward. "No, he's going to get him with genjutsu!"

Naruto just grinned with confidence. "Don't worry, you'll get it." The white-haired man suddenly emerged from the ground nearby and signaled the young boy. "Naruto! Attack him and my shadow doppel-ganger!"

There was a poof and suddenly two Narutos were racing toward Itachi and the fake Kakashi, a huge spiral of chakra in one of the blondie's hands. "I'm on it!" the enthusiastically furious boy yelled, rushing headlong toward one of his oldest enemies. He attacked, screaming, "Odama rasengan! Giant spiral sphere!"

Reyah sat up, her eyes blue-green and yellow with surprised admiration. "Uzumaki Naruto . . ."

-- So I'm leaving another one. Wow, I'm finally connecting with my readers. Yay! Anywho, that was a long chapter compared to my usual. I'm not sure how this is all going to play out, I write on impulse. I do know that Reyah is going to show up only to find her husband-- well, I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't read the manga. You'll see. - Later peeps!


	23. Chapter 23

1Reyah dashed forward, her long raven hair scattering behind her as she ran to see Itachi. But he wasn't there. Instead . . .

"Yura?" She frowned and took another step forward, not believing her eyes. "What is he doing there? Where is Itachi?"

Naruto spoke up. "Maybe he was impersonating Itachi with the art of transformation. The real Itachi is somewhere else."

The white-haired Kakashi just stared at the corpse. "No, this isn't that level of jutsu. The Uchiha clan created the fireball technique and they like to use it often. That jutsu wasn't fake." He sighed and looked away, glancing in the direction of the jade-colored girl. "The real Itachi is at the Akatsuki lair. This replica was to slow us down and gather intelligence on us."

Naruto flinched a little bit at his next words.

"They're good."

Reyah looked at Naruto, a surge of affection going through her for the boy. He had obviously battled people like this before from the way he was taking it all in. She grinned. Another day in the eventful life of Uzumaki Naruto.

Granny Chiyo spoke up, drawing their attention. "Yes, it's clear they were trying to buy time. There's no doubt they've already started extracting the biju!"

The jade-colored girl stiffened suddenly, a powerful burst of pain throbbing through her senses. She put a hand to her head. "Gaara . . ."

The old lady watched her sympathetically, but went on. "Presumably they're trying to create a new Jinchuriki with the one-tailed Shukaku."

Reyah looked at her almost hopelessly as Kakashi spoke. "Then there's no time to lose. We have to hurry to rescue Gaara."

Chiyo nodded and voiced a small agreement, but Sakura was confused. "Jinchuriki?"

The old lady sighed and continued to watch Gaara's wife closely. "As I explained, biju have super-human powers and each country tried to use them for military purposes. If you can control the Jinchuriki, you can control the biju he is hosting."

Sakura was in her element. "But you said no one could control such power!"

Chiyo shook her head. "No one could in the end. But at one time people did try to control them by sealing biju in humans."

Reyah, Sakura and Naruto all started at the same time, turning to stare at Chiyo. She only returned Reyah's stare. "In that way," she continued, "people tried to suppress the biju's extreme powers and control them. People in whom biju were sealed, like Gaara, are called Jinchuriki."

The jade-colored girl looked away, furious tears welling up inside of her. She looked up at Naruto to see him staring into space, a strange look in his eyes.

Chiyo sighed. "A Jinchuriki is capable of incredible power by resonating with their biju. Including Gaara, there have been three Jinchuriki in the sand's history."

Sakura looked as ready to cry as Reyah felt. She looked up, strange determination built inside of her emerald eyes. "Using those Jinchuriki, people have waged war over and over again, right?"

Chiyo nodded. "Yes."

Sakura seemed to explode. "But then . . .! What about the people that were made into Jinchuriki?" She gritted her teeth, glancing jerkily at Naruto. "What can be done to pull the biju out?"

Reyah squeezed her eyes shut, the color somewhere between clear, purple and red. She didn't want to listen, for fear of the answer, but she had to know.

Granny Chiyo started with hesitance, watching Reyah sadly. "Removing a biju requires a sealing jutsu with power that is momentarily equal to that of the biju and quite a bit of time. But once the biju is removed, the Jinchuriki . . ."

Reyah opened her eyes at her hesitance, the clear and purple and red eyes going pure orange. "No . . ."

Sakura had the same reaction. "Oh . . . no . . ."

Chiyo just nodded. "Yes . . ." She turned her eyes away from the green girl at last and said in a quiet voice, "when the biju is removed, the Jinchuriki . . . dies." The old lady looked at Sakura. "Both of the sand's other Jinchuriki I just mentioned died because Shukaku was removed."

Reyah fell to her knees, her hands covering her face, and she heard Sakura let out a tiny, strangled sob. But Naruto's strong voice broke through their sadness. "Just like women, always quick to cry. Don't worry about it, you two."

Reyah looked up at him, her clear and orange eyes looking desperately to the one she knew was stronger than her husband. He was smiling grimly at her and Sakura. "I'm gonna save Gaara!"

Reyah ducked her head and scrubbed at her tears, pulling herself back to her feet as Sakura burst out, "Naruto, it's you I'm--"

He cut her off by turning and walking away. "We'd better hurry."

Reyah tugged at the pack on her shoulder, sniffing hard and following him stubbornly, a determined brown coloring her eyes.

-- That's ominous, isn't it? Well, how would you like to be in Reyah's position? That sucks! Thanks for reading! You guys are the best.


	24. Chapter 24

1It was nighttime and they had stopped for a break. Only Reyah and Chiyo remained awake, neither being able to sleep how ever much one would pressure the other.

Granny Chiyo looked sideways at the girl again. "Really, milady, you need your rest. You'll need your strength."

She shook her head. "I can hardly sit still. How am I supposed to sleep? I want my husband back, _now_." Her voice was like granite and her eyes were a dark brown. "And what you said . . . why are we even stopping? We should find him right now and keep them from killing him!"

Chiyo started and took her hand as dark blood seeped from the clenched fist. "Please, the others need rest, and so do you. This is a nasty habit of yours, stop tearing apart your hands. What would Gaara say?"

She sniffed hard and forced her eyes black. "He would hug me and kiss my hand, then he would clean it off with a damp cloth and bind it up so it would heal properly, like he always does. Communicating any disapproval without words. Then he would pick up little Isako and we would play with her and he would do that cute thing with his sand when he thinks I'm not looking . . . oh!" She burst into helpless tears and buried her face in her hands for the second time that day.

The old lady put a comforting arm around her. "There, there. Everything will be okay." She looked up at the sky, a strange determined light in her eyes. "I promise you, your husband will be alright."

Reyah let herself go and leaned against the woman for comfort, seeing as though the only other person she could do that with was on the brink of death. "I-- I'm going to try and contact him, is that okay?"

Chiyo restrained her hands. "Wait until tomorrow. We'll stop and give you a chance . . . I'll carry you if I have to while you're doing it, but right now you get some sleep. It's been a hard day."

Reyah nodded, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was. She laid down on the ground and closed her eyes, images of trees flying by, Itachi and Naruto fighting each other, the slain Yura . . . everything that had happened . . .

Her eyes shut tighter as she drifted to sleep. Her dreams were quiet and peaceful, full of the sound of her daughter giggling, the vision of her husband playing with her, and the feeling of sand as it surrounded her in a protective barrier against anything that would hurt her. She smiled in her sleep, more content than she had been in the last forty-something hours.

-- Sorry, that was short again. But the next one will be better, I promise!


	25. Chapter 25

1Reyah's head was throbbing harder than ever now, distracting her as they dashed wildly through the woods. She landed on a branch then took off again, yelling to catch Chiyo's attention, "hey granny!"

The old lady looked at her, noticing her grimace. "Lady?"

"I wanna contact Gaara now! Something is happening, I can tell!"

Naruto leapt in front of her, scooping her up on his back before leaping again. He grunted, but grinned up at her. "You do what you have to! But we're not stopping."

Reyah nodded and wove the signs in record time, slumping forward on Naruto's back as she attempted to contact Gaara.

_Something was pulling her away from her own consciousness, as hard as she tried to fight back. It was hard and merciless. It didn't want to let her go. She squirmed, keeping her hands stubbornly in the sign that kept the connection between her husband and her open._

_A flash of red hair, a wave of desperation and confusion surged through her. _"Gaara . . ."

_Two jade eyes looked and saw her there. They blinked once, not believing what they were seeing. _"Reyah, my beautiful Reyah."

_She smiled at him, tears of joy leaping to her bright pink eyes. _"Gaara!"_ She ran toward him, keeping her hands firmly in the position._

_He stretched out a hand and caught her, pulling him close and trying to breath in the scent of her hair. He looked away from her, distant and strange._

"Gaara, what's wrong?"

_He shook his head. _"Reyah, have I become someone that people need?"

_She looked up at him, her eyes blue and yellow, confused. _"Gaara-- of course! Isako and I, we need you! All of Sunagakure too!"_ She leaned against him, burying her face in his chest, unable to hug him with her hands preoccupied._

_He took hold of her wrists, looking at her. _"What did I do to deserve you? It must have been something incredible."_ He looked away, noticing a small figure far away. _"Who is that?"

_She looked, recognizing the red hair and dark clothes at once. _"But--"_ she looked up at the man she was standing next to, completely confused. _"Gaara, where are we?"

_He shook his head. _"Where are we ever? Don't you see, my Reyah? That's me."_ He frowned. _"But why is that me? Those eyes, that nose . . ."_ He touched her chin, glancing down at her lips. _"That mouth . . . why is that me? Why is that Gaara?"

_She just blinked at him, not knowing what to say. A distant, pondering feeling was coming over her too. _"I-- don't know. Gaara . . ."

_He shook his head, taking a step away from her. _"We are in these bodies-- no, what am 'I' anyway? What is 'we'? I'm only aware of being 'me'. So who am I?"

"Gaara! Come back!"_ She gritted her teeth and tried to run after him, but fell to her knees. He was drifting away from her, but he wasn't moving at all._

_He shook his head. _"No, you get away from here, my beautiful Reyah. I don't know what's happening but it's not good. You go, get somewhere safe. Reyah, I . . ."

_Tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her cheeks as she watched him grow smaller and smaller._

"I love you."

_Her hands broke apart and she was falling suddenly,_ branches and twigs tearing at her as she fell. But, why was she falling? What had happened?

Two strong arms caught her, but she was still moving, unaware of her surroundings. Her eyes flickered open slightly, but she couldn't see anything. Blurred green and a bright patch of yellow, two sapphire orbs staring at her. She closed her eyes again and let her head fall back, thinking that it was Gaara who was carrying her. Then the emptiness hit her.

She gasped, her eyes flying open and her whole back arching. She cried out, "Gaara!" but there was no answer. Her senses were dead, an absence gnawing there at her sanity. "Gaara . . ."

"Put her down here!" "What's wrong with her?" "Something must have happened to Gaara."

There were voices, but she couldn't make them out. She was fighting desperately to sense her husband as she had been able to do so easily in the past, but there was nothing. She opened her eyes in desperation. Maybe he was within view.

Four concerned faces were hanging over her, the pink-haired one holding a hand over her forehead. "She's physically fine, but it looks like she just woke up from death!"

The old one stood up, her face getting smaller as it moved away. "It must be Gaara. We have to hurry! No, Naruto, let Kakashi get her. You've carried her enough for now."

"No!" She struggled to her feet, forcing herself out of the weird haze. "I'm fine! Let's go!"

The other four watched her warily, but they were soon there before a huge gate blocked by a rock. Reyah looked up, her eyes smoldering red. Something had happened to her husband. She would get to him if it killed her.

A young man with big eyes, a matching man, a girl and another boy with pale eyes were there to meet them. The boy with the buggy eyes greeted them exitedly, turning around with his whole face lighting up. "Naruto, Sakura!"

He grinned at them, then turned to look at the jade-colored girl with the smoldering red eyes. "I'm Lee! This is Tenten, Neji and Master Guy!"

She nodded at them, allowing a small grin to grace her lips. "I am Reyah."

Sakura smiled and ducked her head. "Everyone's here, so you arrived ahead of us!"

Guy grinned at Lee. "Okay! Let's do this, Kakashi!"


End file.
